


Anywhere Out This Place

by cantfuckinbelievethis



Series: One-shots [8]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Bullying, Closeted!Ian, Jealous!Ian, M/M, Monica and Frank leave quickly dont worry, Moving, Protective!Iggy, Vomit Mention, abuse mention, accountant!mickey, baby mickey is a cutie, blood mention, but its discussed, but this is mainly fluff, changes to POV quite often, happiness, i recycle my OCs like no ones business, ian is bipolar but its barely mentioned, ians kinda sulky at the beginning, injury mention, lip and mandy are only friends which is great to me, lots of fights but none are actually angsty, mention of date rape drug, mickey in established relationships, no one actually gets drugged or date raped, no terry after the first few pages, physical abuse mention, probably ooc as hellll, protective!Fiona, slurs that are used in canon, some shade thrown through no fault of my own
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 21:02:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7377250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cantfuckinbelievethis/pseuds/cantfuckinbelievethis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Monica decides to moves her family away from the trouble that could follow another one of Frank’s fuck ups, eleven-year-old Fiona has one condition: the Milkoviches are coming with them. </p><p>Or an AU where the Milkoviches and Gallaghers grow up together in the same house.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Anywhere Out This Place

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure how I feel about this one but I wrote almost 21K for it, so I decided to post it anyway~~

**2002**  
  
‘Yeah, you’d better fuckin’ pick it up,’ Terry Milkovich taunted from the couch, where he was stretched out beside his wife. He glowered at his son, who was leaning over to pick up the beer bottle Terry’d just hurled at his head. ‘You’re always leavin’ your fuckin’ shit ’round my house.’  
  
    Iggy kept his expression passive as he looked up at his pops and his unconscious mother. She still had the needle hanging from her arm. Terry’s eyes were bloodshot and wide with fury. Clearly he’d also sampled some of the shit they’d scored from Davey under the L this morning.  
  
    After collecting the bottle, Iggy turned around and headed to the kitchen. A scowl formed on his face as he wiped the blood off his forehead. He came over to the sink, going to turn on the water only to find it had been cut off again. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he tossed the bottle into the sink, cringing at the noise it made. He shot a guarded look toward the living room, but nothing came. A few seconds later, there was loud snoring. Fucker must’ve fallen asleep again.  
  
    The eldest Milkovich kid — in the house anyway — finally relaxed slightly, spinning around and leaning back against the sink. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. His hands were still shaking so he tightened his grip on the counter behind him.  
  
    He remembered the first time anyone had noticed a bruise on him. He’d been eight and he had had a black eye, because he tried to change the radio station in his pop’s car without asking first. The teacher, a young Southside native in her first year of teaching, had just run a gentle finger under his eye, tracing the outline.  
  
    ‘Iggy,’ she’d said softly. ‘If I told the police about this, would you tell them who did it to you?’  
  
    All Iggy had done was clench his jaw and fists, shaking his head firmly at the thought of the police coming to his house. His pops would be so fucking mad. Last time a neighbour had bravely come to the door because four-year-old Mickey had been screaming, Iggy’d gotten kicked for not controlling his little brother and Mickey’d gotten a hard slap across the face. Iggy hadn’t bothered to argue that Mickey was just scared of Pops’ shouting. Luckily, Mandy had been a quieter baby and didn’t get in as much trouble with that.  
  
    Now that they were older, though, it was all fair game. Iggy, now eleven, felt the need to protect his siblings even more. He was the oldest at home; it was his responsibility, and he was doing a piss-poor job of it. Luckily, five-year-old Mandy spent a whole lot of time at the Gallagher house, which no parents questioned. She had met her now best friend a few months ago — a ridiculous looking kid who was pretty much all freckle. Fiona Gallagher had taken six year old Lip, five-year-old Ian, and baby Debbie to the sandpit.  
  
    Lip had sat with Fiona and Iggy, claiming he was too old for the playground now. Mickey had just sat in the corner of the playground with a scowl as he observed his baby sister making friends with the stupid ginger dick, as he liked to refer to Ian. Mandy had gotten to sleep over at Ian’s, with Fiona’s permission of course, since Iggy explained the situation going on at home. Even though Iggy knew he shouldn’t say anything, he trusted Fiona. The eldest Gallagher had been hesitant at first because of the lack of food and money they had, not really wanting to take on an extra kid, but Iggy had offered to send some money and food around if Fiona could just have Mandy over a lot. He figured it would be good at keep at least one kid out of the way.  
  
    Mickey, still bitter about losing his sister to the stupid ginger dick, had refused to spend any time there, though. Fiona also hadn’t seemed to keen to have him over since Mickey had some attitude. Iggy didn’t bother arguing about it, figuring he could keep an eye on at least him.  
  
     _Yeah, right,_ Iggy thought to himself as he wiped the blood with a tea towel again. It was dripping into his eyes now.  
  
    ‘Ig,’ a whimper came out from under the kitchen table.  
  
    Iggy tensed, letting out a huff of air and leaning down to see Mickey crouched under there, arms around his legs and tears on his cheeks. His wet, blue eyes damn near broke Iggy’s heart. Mickey, underneath all the dirt and scowls, had always been a bit of a soft kid. They all were, which was why the usually got the punishments they did since Terry was trying to beat the sensitivity out of them.  
  
    The older boy knew the look on Mickey’s face. He was asking whether Iggy was okay without saying the words. It upset Iggy that the younger Milkovich was already learning how to be more tough, how to care without showing it.  
  
    Iggy smiled gently. ‘I’m good. C’mon, bro, let’s hang out. Do you wanna go somewhere much cooler than here?’ He made sure to keep his voice low, but excited, like they were sharing a secret.  
  
    Mickey immediately perked up at that. He always wanted Iggy to think he was cool, since he though Iggy was The Coolest. ‘Where?’  
  
    Iggy gave him a wink, holding out a hand for Mickey to take. Once Mickey grabbed on, Iggy swung him onto his back. Mickey let out a squeal before immediately tensing, shooting a look at the couch. They both waited, but nothing came except more snoring. Iggy relaxed and, giving Mickey a piggy back, strode out the back door.  
  
    ‘Okay, Mick,’ Iggy began as he approached the fence, resting a leg on the lower beam. ‘You’ve gotta hold on tight now. I’m going to climb over this fence, and I can’t have you fallin’ off, you hear me?’  
  
    Mickey grinned widely, missing front teeth on display, and cried out, ‘Sure thing, Ig!’  
  
    Iggy felt Mickey hold on tighter and let go of his brother, jiggling him slightly to make sure he wasn’t going to fall. He only did it gently, not wanting to jostle Mickey’s wrist in his cast. Mickey let out a stream of giggles and Iggy smiled slightly before climbing the fence, hopping over it in a few seconds. Once he landed, he immediately held onto Mickey again, heart thudding at the thought of him dropping on the concrete.  
  
    ‘Awesome fuckin’ job, kid,’ Iggy cheered, giving him a high-five over his shoulder. ‘Now, let’s head off!’  
  
    Mickey chattered excitedly as Iggy walked, taking guesses of any cool places they could be going. When Iggy finally stopped in front of the Gallagher house, Mickey stopped talking before struggling to get down. Iggy set him down gently, a smirk tugging at his lips as he waited for Mickey’s bitching to start.  
  
    Mickey crossed his arms in true grumpy Mickey fashion, eyebrows arching. ‘ _Ig_. This place isn’t _cool_.’  
  
    ‘It will be; you know why?’ Iggy leant down so he was eye-level with Mickey.  
  
    ‘Why?’ Mickey eyed him suspiciously.  
  
    ‘We’re going inside, and Mandy’s going to be in there,’ Iggy teased, letting out a laugh. He straightened back out, heading up the path to the front door as Mickey reluctantly trailed behind.  
  
    ‘She’s not cool!’ Mickey stomped his foot. ‘’Specially not with that stupid ginger dick.’  
  
    ‘Mickey, that’s Mandy’s best friend you’re talking about. If you’re not careful, she might just kick your fuckin’ ass.’ Iggy grinned at his little brother, knocking on the front door.  
  
    ‘I ain’t afraid of Mandy,’ Mickey scoffed, rolling his eyes.  
  
    The door swung open suddenly, Mandy and Ian jumping out with loud roars. Mickey jumped about fifteen feet in the air, letting out a loud shriek. Mandy and Ian burst out into fits of giggles, holding their tummies because they hurt so much from the laughter.  
  
    ‘You’re the stupid dick, Mick,’ Ian snickered, immediately running back into the house when he saw Mickey’s responding scowl.  
  
    Mickey followed after him, chasing him up the stairs with shouted threats. Iggy and Mandy both rolled their eyes. Fiona came up behind Mandy, looking exhausted as usual. Mandy rushed off, probably to make sure Mickey didn’t beat up her best friend.  
  
    ‘Oh, hey, Ig.’ Her brown eyes drifted up to Iggy’s forehead. ‘The fuck happened to you?’  
  
    Iggy shrugged, suddenly finding the porch very interesting to look at. ‘Terry. Beer bottle.’  
  
    Fiona didn’t say anything for a while, so Iggy looked back up at her. Her brown eyes were hard and wide with anger as she eyed the blood. It was the same look she got anytime Frank hit one of the kids, most likely Ian. Iggy felt kind of warm knowing that someone besides his younger siblings cared that much. Without a word, she swung the door open wider and gestured for him to come in. As soon as he did, Lip nodded at him from the couch. Debbie was in a crib in the corner of the room, staring at the shitty mobile hanging over her head.  
  
    ‘Ian’s locked himself in our room and won’t get out because Mickey’s waiting for him,’ Lip complained.  
  
    ‘Just wait for them to sort it out amongst themselves.’ Fiona sighed, rubbing at her eyes. ‘Lip, can you watch Debbie while I clean Iggy up?’  
  
    Lip eyed Iggy’s forehead too, pressing his lips together before shrugging and turning on the TV.  
  
    Iggy followed Fiona up to the bathroom, where she proceeded to clean his forehead free of the blood and stick a band-aid over the cut. After she was done, he let his gaze drift over her face. She looked fuckin’ ready to pass out from exhaustion.  
  
    ‘Fi, I can take Mandy off your hands for tonight if you’re too tired?’ he offered, not knowing what else to do to make it easier on his friend.  
  
    Fiona shook her head, ever the martyr. ‘I can’t let Mandy go back to your house, especially after seeing this. I just…I just wish Mickey would stay here too sometimes. He’s a little pain in the ass and really needs to stop bullying my little brother, but don’t think I didn’t notice the cast around his wrist.’ Fiona’s face hardened. ‘How did that happen?’  
  
    Iggy looked down, ashamed. ‘Fuckin’ Terry crushed his wrist with his foot. Shattered the goddamn bone before I could do anything about it. We went down to Sheila’s and she took him to the hospital. I couldn’t have taken him myself or they would’ve asked questions…’  
  
    ‘Maybe they should,’ Fiona snapped. ‘I mean, I get it, Ig. I _do_ , but this is going too far. Mandy’s coming over with bruises up her arms and Mickey’s getting broken _bones_. I mean, Terry threw a fuckin’ bottle at your head!’  
  
    They both stayed silent for a minute after her outburst, just sitting there and listening to the kids squealing and arguing in the next room. Mickey, out of nowhere, let out a loud laugh and Iggy smiled slightly at the sound.  
  
    ‘Those kids are my life, Fi,’ Iggy said quietly. ‘Trust me, I’d love nothing more to get them away from Terry, but it ain’t gonna happen. We can’t keep inconveniencing you like this, either.’  
  
    Fiona understood what he was saying because she felt the same way. She almost argued at the inconvenience part, but decided it was best to say nothing at all. All she did was grab her friend’s hand in her own. He did, and they both sat there, quietly realising that this was going to be their lives for a while longer.  
  
  
  
**2005**  
  
It all happened because of Monica. She was hanging around for a while after having popped Carl out three years ago. She ditched for a year between then and now. Mickey, Mandy, and Ian were all in Ian and Lip’s room. Monica was sitting in front of them all on the bed, Ian in her lap as she told them a bedtime story.  
  
    By the time Mickey was ten, he just gave into the fact that he had to hang around Ian and Mandy since there was really no one else. Not that it was fun hanging around with eight year old _babies_. Lip sometimes hangs around with them, but otherwise mostly just read downstairs.  
  
    Debbie and Carl were sleeping in their room, and Fiona was in her room trying to figure out the budget for the next week. Iggy, who was invited to this sleepover as well, had tried to help her, but had quickly given up and joined the kids in Ian and Lip’s room.  
  
    As Monica told a story of a town jester, who’d gotten in trouble with some nasty dragons, Iggy’d found it remarkably similar to Frank’s little situation he was currently stuck in. He had gotten in some trouble with a gun and now was actively hiding from them. Luckily, this gang didn’t know where he lived so no one was going to come knocking on the Gallagher door.  
  
    ‘This story is _stupid_!’ Mickey burst out in annoyance.  
  
    ‘Shut up, Mickey,’ Ian snapped, grumpy that Mick had ruined the story just like he ruined _everything_.  
  
    ‘You shut up,’ Mickey grumbled. ‘Just seems to me that the jester would run away from the kingdom. He’s fuckin’ dumb for stickin’ ‘round.’  
  
    Iggy felt increasingly panicked as he saw the wheels turning in Monica’s head.  
  
    ‘ _You’re_ dumb!’ Mandy retorted, wanting to stick up for her best friend.  
  
    ‘No, Mandy…’ Monica smiled. ‘Mickey actually has a very good point.’  
  
    Mickey stuck his tongue out at Mandy, seeming rather pleased about this turn of events. Iggy, however, gulped nervously at the look in Monica’s eyes. Monica eased Ian out of her lap and stood.  
  
    ‘Kids, start packing your stuff, we’re going on an _adventure_!’ Monica cheered.  
  
    ‘Oh no,’ Ian whispered as Monica left the room. ‘Last time she did that, she left Debbie on the sidewalk for _hours_.’  
  
    ‘I’ll tell Fiona,’ Iggy assured Ian, whose big, green eyes were filled with concern.  
  
    Iggy raced into Fiona’s room, who was staring up at her mother as she chattered excitedly about her plan to move to a small town.  
  
    ‘It’ll be cheaper, Fiona,’ Monica persuaded. ‘There’ll be more jobs there, too. People in country towns are always looking for people to help out! We can go to a farm. Think of it — pigs, cows, _horsies_! It’ll be great; let’s go!’  
  
    Monica raced out of the room, presumably to tell the other kids to start packing, when Iggy made his way into the room properly. Fiona had a look on her face like she was _actually considering this_.  
  
    ‘Fi, no.’ Iggy sighed, sitting on her bed. ‘This is a ridiculous plan, and you know it.’  
  
    She turned to her friend with glassy eyes. ‘Ig. There is no other choice. Fuckin’ Frank’s got himself in another situation, only this is one we’ll never get out of. The kids are constantly scared and I’m running out of money super fuckin’ fast. I have to go along with her plan…Maybe it’ll be different this time.’  
  
    Iggy grabbed her hand, desperate now. ‘Fi, we can figure this out! We can—’  
  
    ‘Iggy. No.’ Fiona’s expression was a one of warning. She’d made her decision and he should leave it alone. ‘This is the best outcome for all of us.’  
  
    ‘What, you guys leaving us behind?’ Iggy snapped.  
  
    His best friend’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. ‘Uh, what are you talking about? You guys are coming with us, aren’t you?’  
  
    Iggy’s blue eyes widened considerably at this new proposition. ‘We are?’  
  
    Fiona just gave him a small smile. ‘Of course, idiot. You’re all family now.’  
  
    The Milkovich boy was quiet for a moment, considering the idea of life far away from Terry. A life where they were all still dirt poor, sure, but maybe they weren’t scared anymore. Maybe Mandy and Mickey just laughed all day, running around rather than huddling in corners. A life without bottles and bruises. He only considered all of this for a moment before jumping at the chance.  
  
    ‘Fuck yes; we’re coming with you.’  
  
  
Seven hours later, Iggy stared out the window of the van, four year old Debbie sleeping on his lap as they finally passed the sign. _**Welcome to Shye, Pennsylvania. Population: 1, 606.**_  
  
    ‘Nobody’s here,’ Lip, the only kid still awake, complained.  
  
    ‘That’s why this is fun!’ Monica exclaimed. ‘We’re going to a _ghost town_.’  
  
    ‘Can’t believe we fuckin’ had to go here, Monica,’ Frank whined, still a little drunk and lounged in the passenger seat.  
  
    ‘It’s your fault, Frank!’ Monica huffed. ‘Luckily for you, you had a brainy kid on your side. It was Mickey’s idea to run away!’  
  
    ‘Of course it was,’ Lip scoffed, nudging Mickey with his foot.  
  
    Mickey’s eyebrows woke up before he did, as usual, and he blinked. The sun was rising and it was pretty beautiful.  
  
    ‘Wow,’ Mickey murmured, and Iggy knew he was the only one who had heard him.  
  
    Mickey wouldn’t ever admire a sunrise in a way that anyone would know. The kid had been so beaten down by Terry, he thought even thinking something looked pretty was a pussy move.  
  
    ‘Are we here yet?’ Ian mumbled, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes.  
  
    ‘Yeah, freckles, we’re here.’ Mickey rolled his eyes when Ian shot him a scowl.  
  
    ‘Where are we going to stay, Monica?’ Frank slurred. ‘Your brain kid fuckin’ think of that?’  
  
    ‘It’s summer; we can stand to camp out for a few days!’ Monica cried out in excitement.  
  
  
  
**2011**   
  
As it turned out, a few days turned into a week and people in the town started to notice the family sleeping in the van. People were too freaked out to approach them, though. Fiona, deciding she’d had enough of having Carl’s foot in her face while she tried to sleep, went out searching for a job. Fiona had brought the squirrel fund with them, but had hid it until they absolutely needed it.  
  
    She got a job at the one supermarket in town pretty quickly, working with a woman called Linda. It paid shit all, but when Iggy went on and on about his fixing skills to a local handyman, Bill, he got a job as his apprentice. Iggy knew that Bill didn’t buy one word Iggy was selling, but he figured that maybe Bill sympathised with the dirty kid in the too-small clothes. Bill was the richest man in town, mainly doing the handyman thing for productivity, and paid Iggy over what he should’ve.  
  
    Even Monica got a job at the local bar, since she was pretty outgoing. For now, anyway. Frank didn’t get a job. He figured he was looking after the kids and that was enough. Pooling their money together, and adding in the squirrel fund, they managed to get a motel room to stay in until they could buy a house.  
  
    It took two years until they managed to get one. By then, they had gotten the kids enrolled in the local school and Iggy got promoted to assistant handyman. Since he could drive now, he also took house calls by himself and got to keep the money from them. Bill also had a hardware store, the merchandise brought in from Harrisburg, so he offered Lip and Mickey jobs there since he was now so fond of the patchwork family. The boys were too young to be working, but no one seemed to care.  
  
    Monica dipped in and out between manic and depressed and level often. It wasn’t until three years after they got the house, and Iggy and Fiona were nineteen, that they came home to find both Frank and Monica gone. Eight year old Carl and nine year old Debbie were watching TV by themselves, saying that Monica and Frank had said they were just going to the market. However, after two months had gone by, they all made peace with the fact that they were gone for good.  
  
    Fiona had begged for a promotion, and Linda had given it to her as co-manager since her husband had run out on her and she needed some extra help. She even hired Ian as well, even though he was only twelve. It managed to keep them steady. Luckily, Monica had been right; it was cheap living in a country town.  
  
    Although the house was pretty big, they still had to share rooms. Mickey and Iggy shared a room, Mandy and Fiona shared a room, Debbie and Carl shared another, and Ian and Lip shared the smallest room. When Monica and Frank left, the rooms had been redistributed with a drawing of straws and they had gotten the short one. Ian had wanted to share with Mandy, but Fiona, not knowing Ian was gay, had refused, not wanting any funny business. Ian hadn’t told anyone, not even Mandy or Lip, about being gay.  
  
    Mickey spent a lot of time in Lip and Ian’s room, since he and Lip were best friends now. Ian and Mickey still didn’t really get along that well, so Ian was less than thrilled about it.  
  
    Another two years went by steadily until there was an announcement for a room change. Fiona had started bringing her boyfriends home and decided she wanted her own room. Everyone got really pissed off about it, not thinking it was fair that she got her own room.  
  
    ‘I should get my own room, then,’ Iggy said. ‘I’m twenty-one, just as old as you.’  
  
    Fiona rolled her eyes. ‘Like you every bring your girls home, Ig.’  
  
    They were all crowded around the table in their usual family meeting. Ian and Mandy were seated next to each other, knocking knees under the table. Mickey had his feet up on the table as he picked at a scab on his knee from roughhousing with Lip. Lip was drawing in a notebook, trying to redistribute the rooms fairly, but coming up with nothing. Debbie and Carl had their elbows up on the table, heads in their hands, clearly bored with the conversation.  
  
    ‘Alright, so if Iggy and Fiona want their own rooms, that leaves six of us to be split up into two rooms. Because of the girls wanting no boys in their room—’ Lip gave Mandy and Debbie a cursory nod of acknowledgement. ‘—That’s four boys in the other room.’  
  
    ‘That’s gotta be a health and safety code violation!’ Ian complained.  
  
    ‘Plus, it’ll smell,’ Debbie added, wrinkling her nose.  
  
    Lip shrugged. ‘Its the only way it’ll work out, guys.’  
  
    ‘Fuck’s sake,’ Mickey huffed, dropping his feet from the table and leaning over to see Lip’s notebook. He eyed it for a moment before saying, ‘Mands and Debs and yours and Ian’s old room, since it’s small. Iggy gets his and my old room. Fiona gets her’s and Mandy’s, and Lip, Ian, and Carl get Debbie and Carl’s old room. I’ll take the basement.’  
  
    ‘Mick, it smells like meth down there,’ Ian said.  
  
    Mickey shrugged. ‘Spray some deodorant, shove my bed down there, and it’ll be nice and homey. Plus, besides Fi and Iggy, I’m the oldest here; I should get my own room, too.’  
  
    Lip clicked his pen twice in thought before shrugging. ‘Whatever, good enough for me.’  
  
    They all decided that if Mickey was happy enough sleeping in the basement, it was a good enough plan. While they were all getting up to start moving their stuff around, Mickey grabbed his phone and typed a text message. None of his housemates, besides Lip, knew of the seventeen year old’s ulterior motives for wanting his own room, even if it was the basement. After all, only Lip knew he was gay. That’s why he shot Mickey a wink and a shit-eating grin when Mickey got out his phone. He returned the action by flipping him off, the fuckin’ jackass.  
  
    He typed out a text to his boyfriend, Sam. _Yo, got the basement to myself from now on. It’s a shit hole, but it’s private…_  
  
    Smirking to himself, he put his phone back in his pocket and started helping out with the move.  
  
*  
  
It had been a few months since the switching of rooms and, though he’d never admit it, Ian was starting to miss having Mickey around. He wasn’t coming into their room so much anymore now that he had his own, and there was so many people in their room. When Mickey would come in and Lip was out, they’d tell each other stupid jokes and smoke weed to pass the time until Lip showed up.  
  
    So one day Ian ditched school early to come home in hopes of hanging out with Mickey. Mickey had dropped out of school last year, deciding to go full-time at Bill’s hardware store. Bill, noticing Mickey’s skill with numbers, had quickly promoted him to assisting with the accounting. It brought home more money, so no one was complaining about Mickey’s lack of high school qualifications. Ian would’ve dropped out with him, but Mandy had wanted to stay. He never really skipped much, because he figured if he stayed, he might as well commit. Except for that day.  
  
    He came home to a silent house, which was confusing because Mickey had the day off. He dropped his bag, listening for a moment to see if anyone was there. After a few seconds, he heard faint grunting from his room in the basement, which he figured must be Mickey working out like he usually did. Ian decided to just head down there, no knocking before opening the door. If he just so happened to walk in on Mickey working out all shirtless and sweaty…well, it definitely wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.  
  
    What he walked in on, though, was not as expected. Yeah, there was Mickey…shirtless and sweating…but he was also fully naked with a guy rutting away on top of him. For a moment, Ian worried that Mickey was being raped, but then Mickey didn’t seem too upset about what was going on. In fact, he seemed to be enthusiastically encouraging it.  
  
    ‘What the fuck?!’ Ian blurted out before clapping a hand over his mouth, green eyes wide beneath his bangs.  
  
    ‘ _Fucking_ hell!’ Mickey shouted, shoving the guy off him and quickly covering himself with the sheet. Ian recognised the guy as Mickey’s friend, Sam. The guy always ruffled Ian’s hair when he saw him and Ian _hated_ him. ‘What the _fuck_ are you doing here, Ian?’  
  
    Ian didn’t say anything, just nervously shook his head and backed out of the room. He raced up the stairs and out the door before Mickey could get to him. He was so confused and strangely upset. He didn’t know what else to do but keep running and running and running.  
  
  
After Mickey kicked Sam out, who complained of fucking blue balls as if that was top priority at the moment, it took him over an hour to find the goddamn freckled asshole. He had checked the usual hang out spots for him, Ian, Lip, and Mandy — the basement of Bill’s hardware store, the freezer at Linda’s store when it got super fuckin’ hot in summer, and the town square’s gazebo — before he realised that he hadn’t checked the only place that he and Ian knew of: the abandoned house across the way from Old Man Howler’s place.  
  
    Mickey panted as he slowed down from a run when the house came into view. He came round to the side with the broken window on the first floor, ignoring the barks coming from Freddy — Howler’s dog, who could tell when you were a mile away and he didn’t like it — and lifted himself through. It was harder to do without Ian there to help since his legs were somewhat shorter than what was required. Grumbling to himself in annoyance, he heaved himself up and tried to swing his leg over. Suddenly, a pale hand came out and gripped onto his wrist, pretty much dragging him through the window. Mickey almost collapsed on the hardwood floors, but Ian steadied him. As soon as he was balanced, Ian let go like Mickey was on fire and crossed to the other side of the room.  
  
    Ian sat down on the floor, leaning against the peeling wallpaper as he lifted his joint to his lips. He had a small bag of weed on the floor next to him. It occurred to Mickey that he probably brought that to have with Mickey. Ian took a long drag, glancing at Mickey as he approached. He immediately looked away, the memory of Sam on top of Mickey flashing through his mind.  
  
    Mickey noticed Ian flinch as he dropped down beside him. The silence from Ian was enough to make Mickey believe the redhead had a problem with what he saw, but the flinch pretty much confirmed it and Mickey felt more hurt than he thought he would’ve.  
  
    ‘Didn’t take you for a homophobe, Gallagher,’ Mickey said, voice small as he picked at his jeans.  
  
    He knew if Ian took a swing at him, he could probably take the fucker, but this was about more than bruises. With his family, it was about whether they still…Mickey shook his head, not even bothering to think that. He knew better. Fuck love; love was for goddamn pussies. That was something that didn’t change no matter how far he got from his father. Feelings were nothing but trouble.  
  
    Ian didn’t say anything, just shrugged and blew his bangs out of his eyes. When he took another casual drag of the joint, Mickey felt irritation rise in his chest.  
  
    ‘Would you at least look at me?’ he snapped, standing up.  
  
    Ian finally looked up at him, but stuck his chin out and Mickey’s eyes narrowed at that very move. ‘What do you want me to say, Mick?’  
  
    ‘I don’t fuckin’ know,’ Mickey growled back, head starting to hurt with the stress and worry of not knowing whether they’d be okay.  
  
    He and Ian hadn’t ever been particularly close, mostly always at each other’s throats. They had talked and hung out, yeah, but they weren’t like Ian and Mandy or Mickey and Lip. Mickey and Lip had gotten closer when Lip had found Mickey’s porn when looking to see if Mickey had stolen his weed. Even though their friendship was mainly made up of insults and banter, it worked for them.  
  
    ‘We’re cool, Mick. Just don’t do any of that shit in front of me again,’ Ian mumbled, not really knowing why he was saying any of this.  
  
    He clearly didn’t have a problem with Mickey being gay, but he didn’t want to see Mickey with anyone. He also didn’t want to come across _too_ okay with it, since Mickey would probably realise he’s gay too. Ian wasn’t ready for anyone to know yet, and he especially didn’t want to ruin their sort-of-friendship with Mickey thinking Ian might be into him. He knew Mickey would think it was weird and probably move out just to avoid the awkwardness, even if Ian told him he wasn’t. Mickey overreacted like that.  
  
    Mickey snorted. ‘Believe me, Gallagher, didn’t think _anyone_ was going to be home, least of all _your_ ass.’  
  
    ‘Maybe you should hang a sign on the door.’ Ian laughed.  
  
    Mickey shoved him, stealing his joint and taking a drag. ‘Fuck off, asshole.’  
  
  
  
**2012**   
  
Ian had promised not to tell anyone about Mickey and, a year later, Ian had still kept that promise, although it was super fucking hard because he wanted to talk to someone about it. He felt like if Mickey still came into the room a lot, maybe things would be different. They talked more then, spent more time together…Ian found himself wishing Mickey still hung around the room most days just because of how often Mickey wandered around with the bare minimum on, which would be much more worthwhile now that the older boy was eighteen and defined, not fifteen and scrawny.  
  
    Even when Mickey came out a few months into the new year, Ian still felt like he couldn’t talk to anyone about it. He didn’t want to seem too interested in it since he still wasn’t ready to come out, and only the Gallaghers and Milkoviches knew about Mickey anyway.  
  
    Ian was lounging next to Mandy on an abandoned couch, watching across the lake where the party was raging on. They had left to get high in peace, leaving Lip to his flirting and Mickey to his… _Harry_. Ian scowled as he took another hit, thinking about how they’d left Mickey and Harry sitting in the back of Harry’s pick-up truck, looking mighty fuckin’ cozy for being in public. He hated this new boyfriend even more than he’d hated Sam. At least Sam was just sex. Harry was a _boyfriend_.  
  
    Mandy hadn’t questioned it when Ian asked her to come with him and get away from the party for a while. She just shrugged and followed him, curling up next to him as he dropped onto the couch with a joint. As soon as they left, the party started to properly pick up as people started dancing and the fire started blazing. Fucking typical that it would get good as soon as they walked away.  
  
    ‘We can go back if you want,’ Ian offered.  
  
    ‘Nah.’ Mandy shook her head. ‘It’s fine. I could tell you weren’t exactly enjoying yourself.’  
  
    Ian shrugged and Mandy shifted to lay her head on his shoulder. ‘Just not feeling it tonight, I guess.’  
  
    ‘Is it because of Mickey and Harry?’ Mandy guessed and Ian tensed about how _on the fucking dot_ she was. ‘I mean, I get it. You’re pretty territorial of Mickey a lot of the time. I remember when he and Lip were getting closer, you were pissy for _ages_. Mickey’s allowed to have other friends, Ian, even thought I guess Harry isn’t just a friend.'   
  
    Ian could tell she didn’t know the truth about himself since she was clearly teasing him. Either way, he scoffed. ‘I’m not _territorial_.’  
  
    Mandy smirked up at him, taking another hit of the joint. ‘Uh-huh, _sure_.’  
  
    Ian didn’t bother responding, only rolled his eyes and nudged her in the side. After a few moments of staring at the party, that was steadily getting better and better, Ian sighed and suggested they go back again. This time, Mandy agreed since it was looking pretty good over that side of the lake.  
  
    They reached the party in time to see Lip sitting in a circle playing fucking spin the bottle. Mandy sent Ian an apologetic smile and took a seat in the circle, eyeing Grant from their English class hungrily. Ian chuckled at her expression, but decided not to join in and just chilled out on a mattress not too far from the circle. It was dry since it was close to the fire, so he lied down on it and stared up at the stars.  
  
    The stars were something Ian could never fucking get over. He remembered you couldn’t see them that well in Chicago. He remembered the dim glow of the sky that felt as if it was reflecting the city’s lights instead of shining its own. This place was better; it _felt_ better. Ian would never regret that they moved far from the shit show that is the Southside.  
  
    ‘Aye, Gallagher, move off the fuckin’ mattress,’ a voice called out. ‘If ya don’t, you’re goin’ in the fuckin’ fire!’  
  
    Ian sat up, eyeing the group of guys in front of him. Of course he knew them. They were the Hallowfield boys. They were a bunch of assholes who liked to pick on Ian for no goddamn reason, and he wasn’t about to antagonise them more by not following orders, especially since they were fucking psychos that probably _would_ throw him in the fire.  
  
    ‘Yeah, that’s right,’ the middle one, Cooper, said as Ian got up. ‘Fuckin’ move.’  
  
    Ian just rolled his eyes, passing them to join Mickey, who was now sitting alone in the back of Harry’s pick-up. Ian hauled himself up into the back, reclining against the cab of the ruck and stealing Mickey’s cigarette to take a drag.  
  
    ‘Fucker,’ Mickey snapped, elbowing him so he gave it back. ‘Hallowfield shits bothering you again?’ He nodded toward the group, who were now cheering as the mattress they had tossed in the fire blazed.  
  
    ‘Gotta burn that fuckin’ redhead DNA; can’t let that be spreadin’,’ the eldest, Smoke, cheered and sent Ian a mocking grin.  
  
    ‘’Least you don’t got a stupid ass fuckin’ name,’ Mickey grumbled under his breath and Ian laughed in agreement.  
  
    ‘So…where’s Harry?’ Ian asked, leaning his head against the cab and turning it to look at Mickey.  
  
    Mickey awkwardly scratched the side of his nose before admitting, ‘Gettin’ some blankets from Linda.’  
  
    ‘Blankets?’ Ian repeated, not knowing why Mickey was so awkward. ‘Linda’ll rip his fuckin’ balls off for waking her up for blankets. What do you need those for?’  
  
    ‘We’re gonna sleep at Baker’s Point tonight. Harry thought it’d be romantic or some shit.’ Mickey’s cheeks were now bright fucking red and Ian felt a flame of annoyance in his chest.  
  
    ‘Bet you’re really looking forward to it,’ Ian teased, knowing that Mickey didn’t like that kinda shit. He’d said it enough times.  
  
    Mickey’s lips pulled up at the corner of his mouth as he spotted Harry returning, blankets piled up in his arms. ‘Yeah…actually am.’  
  
    Ian frowned at the look on Mickey’s face. Biting his lip, he also glanced in Harry’s direction. He had to admit, the guy was hot. He had a stunner of a smile, great arms (that were much bigger and more toned than Ian’s), soft brown hair, and a bit of stubble to complete the country boy package. Ian glanced down at his own body, which he was only _just_ starting to grow into, and gnawed on his lip even harder.  
  
    ‘Hey, E, keeping Mickey company?’ Harry asked with a grin, dropping the blankets into the truck.  
  
    Ian hated his stupid fucking nickname for Ian. His name didn’t even _start_ with an E, and it really felt like some dude talking to his boyfriend’s younger bother, trying to be cool and get him to like him. Well, he could hold his fucking breath and die for all Ian cared, because that wasn’t going to fucking happen.  
  
    In response to Harry’s question, Ian just nodded and pressed his lips together. Without a word, he climbed out the back of the truck and headed over to a group of girls dancing by the fire. A girl started dancing on him and he let her, glancing at Mickey to see him looking at Ian in confusion. Harry was chatting away next to him, but Mickey wasn’t even listening. Delighted with the attention, Ian shot Mickey a grin and a nod. Mickey nodded back, finally turning to respond to his boyfriend and Ian frowned.  
  
  
    A few hours later, the party winded down and everyone was heading off to leave. Ian was pretty drunk by now, and was so tempted to go and ask Mickey not to go with Harry. Deciding he probably needed a second opinion, he dragged Mandy to the side.  
  
    ‘Mick can’t go with ’im,’ Ian slurred slightly.  
  
    ‘Why?’ Mandy frowned, surprisingly sober. ‘Fi and Ig won’t give a shit. Actually, why do _you_ give a shit?’  
  
    Ian stumbled over his words for a moment in an attempt to just get them out of his mouth. Finally, he spat out, ‘Mickey can do fuckin’ better, Mands.’  
  
    Mandy scoffed. ‘I’m sorry, have you _met_ Harry? Ian, you don’t get it, but that is a hot piece of ass. The best you can really get around here. I’m jealous Mickey got a sexy country man. I haven’t gotten anyone that good yet.’  
  
    ‘What about me?’ Ian snapped irritably.  
  
    ‘Ian, you’re my best friend,’ Mandy said jokingly, clearly not getting what Ian was trying to say. ‘You’re pretty hot, too, but we wouldn’t work out.’  
  
    ‘I’m not talking about for you,’ Ian said, not really thinking about it seeing as he was staring at Mickey, who was getting into Harry’s truck.  
  
    ‘Well, who are you talking about—?’ Mandy stopped short when she noticed that Ian was stumbling towards Harry’s truck. ‘ _Oh_.’  
  
    Finally getting it, and only half-shocked about it, really, she quickly jumped into action and pulled Ian away as Harry drove off. He could not embarrass himself like that tonight.  
  
    ‘No, Ian,’ she said, ‘You’re not ruining Mickey’s night with Harry with your bullshit. Sorry, not happening.’  
  
    ‘Mandy, whose side are you on?’ Ian whined.  
  
    ‘Mickey’s side,’ Mandy snapped. ‘Ian, Mickey’s pretty much out to all of us. _You_ are clearly still closeted. You and Mickey couldn’t work. Mickey needs something where he can feel safe. If you guys dated, Mickey would have to hide and all he would be thinking of is how he’d have to leave the family if you broke up. Mickey wouldn’t feel safe with that.’  
  
    ‘With me, you mean,’ Ian whimpered.  
  
    Mandy sighed, feeling her heart break for the sorrowful, drunk-off-his-ass, boy in front of her. Wrapping an arm around his shoulders, they started off towards home. ‘Maybe someday, cowboy. Maybe someday.’  
  
*  
  
Ian’s hand was curled around his fork, the metal starting to bend at how tightly he was gripping it. He glowered over at Mickey and… _Harry_. He couldn’t believe he had to see this shit in his own damn house. It should be the one place in this ridiculously small town that he could get away from this, but no. There they were, sitting across the table from him at dinner, playing fucking _footsies_ under the table probably. It was enough to make him lose his appetite.  
  
    ‘Calm down, Ian, Jesus,’ Mandy murmured next to him, nudging his fork with her knife.  
  
    Ian ignored her, listening to Harry’s stupidly interesting story as he used his dumb charm to impress the pants off his whole family. He told a joke and everyone laughed, but Ian had to withhold rolling his eyes. God, it wasn’t that fucking funny.  
  
    ‘I can’t believe you don’t come over more often.’ Debbie grinned happily at Harry.  
  
    ‘Well, maybe if my _boyfriend_ wasn’t such an introvert,’ Harry teased, nudging Mickey. ‘He needs time to recharge after this stuff. What should it be this time, two more weeks?’  
  
    Mickey rolled his eyes. ‘Shut the fuck up, man. Not my fault you’re exhausting.’  
  
    Harry laughed, leaning over to kiss his temple.  
  
    Ian’s eye twitched.  
  
    ‘So, Harry, you work on your father’s farm, right?’ Fiona asked, pretty much giving him the fuck me eyes over the goddamn table.  
  
    ‘I swear to God, everyone wants to sleep with him,’ Ian muttered under his breath to Mandy.  
  
    When she didn’t respond, he glanced at her to see her gazing at Harry, eagerly awaiting his answer. Her chin was in her hand, just like Debbie and Fiona, who were all staring at him in adoration.  
  
    ‘Jesus fucking Christ,’ Ian muttered to himself now.  
  
    ‘Yeah, I do everything that requires heavy lifting since he can’t do it now.’  
  
    ‘I _bet_ you do,’ Mandy murmured, eyeing Harry’s arms and all but licking her fucking lips.  
  
    ‘How old are you?’ Lip interjected, frowning at Harry.  
  
    Ian almost grinned at the look on Lip’s face. Yes, this fucker was going to get the third degree. Ian had been disappointed that Iggy wasn’t here, since he would’ve joined in, but Lip should do all by himself. Ever since he and Mickey had become best friends, Lip had been weird and protective about all of the guys Mickey hung around. Whatever the reason, it was working in Ian’s favour.  
  
    ‘I’m, uh, twenty-three,’ Harry said, sounding a bit sheepish.  
  
    ‘Fair bit older than Mickey, then,’ Lip said casually, leaning back in his chair.  
  
    ‘Mickey’s eighteen, Lip. It doesn’t matter,’ Fiona said, warning in her voice.  
  
    ‘I’m just saying…Got a problem with someone your own age?’ Lip asked, arching an eyebrow.  
  
    Harry coughed awkwardly as Mickey shot Lip a death glare. The whole room was tense. Mandy, Debbie, and Carl all stared down at their plates, keeping out of it. Ian was staring questioningly at Harry, feeling pretty smug right now.  
  
    ‘I think Mickey’s more mature than most people I know,’ Harry responded, throwing an arm around Mickey’s shoulder. ‘Age isn’t really an issue for us.’  
  
    ‘Mickey? _Mature_?’ Lip scoffed. ‘Sure.’  
  
    ‘The fuck are you getting at, _Phillip_?’ Mickey snapped, getting annoyed now.  
  
    ‘Come on, man. He’s a bit old for you, that’s all I’m saying,’ Lip said, raising his hands in surrender.  
  
    ‘You have a problem with all the guys Mickey hangs around, Lip,’ Fiona sighed before turning to Harry. At the look on Harry’s face, she quickly added, ‘Not that there have been _that_ many.’  
  
    ‘No, no, Mickey’s the picture of virtue,’ Lip snickered.  
  
    ‘Don’t mind Lip; he’s just being an asshole,’ Mandy told Harry, a scowl forming.  
  
    Lip leant back in his chair, smirking. ‘Or _maybe_ I’m just bringing up what Harry here already knows.’  
  
    ‘Lip, fucking stop it now,’ Mickey snapped.  
  
    Lip looked annoyed and slightly hurt, but dropped it. Ian was annoyed that Lip had given up so easily, but he _had_ made an excellent fucking point. He thought about it all through dinner. Harry was pretty old to be dating Mickey, not that Ian hadn’t fucked around with guys older than him, but he wasn’t Mickey and Ian wasn’t dating any of them. For a relationship, though, five years seemed like a lot.  
  
    After dinner, once Harry had left and everyone had gone into their rooms, Ian followed Mickey down to his room. Mickey had socked Lip in the shoulder in retaliation for the shit he pulled at dinner and Ian hoped what he wanted to say wouldn’t earn him the same. Once Mickey noticed Ian was following him, he offered him a smoke and they sat on his bed.  
  
    ‘Maybe Lip has a point,’ Ian blurted, eyeing Mickey nervously. When Mickey’s face stayed expressionless, he stuttered, ‘Uh, just…He’s five years older than you, Mick. He doesn’t seem to be doing anything with his life besides the farm, and don’t you want to go places or do something with your life…? Seems like he’s going to tie you down is all.’  
  
    Mickey turned to Ian with an incredulous look. ‘The fuck you on, Gallagher? I ain’t going anywhere. I didn’t even finish school for fuck’s sake. I’m staying here, working in Bill’s store for the rest of my life. Now, that may not seem like a good enough life to _you_ , but I like it here. So if Harry stays, it ain’t gonna change any plans of mine.’  
  
    ‘You don’t want to move away? Or maybe be with someone with ambition or plans or some shit?’  
  
    Mickey scowled. ‘I knew Lip was going to be an asshole, but I didn’t think you’d pull this shit too, Ian.’  
  
    ‘All I’m sayin’ is—’  
  
    Mickey suddenly stood up from the bed, cutting Ian off. ‘I _know_ what you’re sayin’, but your fuckin’ feelings about my _lifestyle_ , or whatever the fuck you wanna call it, doesn’t mean you can shit on me and _my_ relationship.’  
  
    ‘Mick…’  
  
    Ian was at a loss for words. He didn’t know how to explain to Mickey that he liked him. He didn’t know how to say that he thought Mickey could like him back. His sixteen year old mind had no clue how to handle this situation, and it drove him crazy.  
  
    ‘Get the fuck out, Gallagher. Maybe come back when you’ve got a better fuckin’ attitude,’ he snapped, crossing his arms, and Ian felt like a child being chastised.  
  
    ‘I think you can do better, Mick,’ Ian blurted, standing too. He didn’t know how else to put it. ‘I’m not tryna…shit on your relationship. Come on, I’m your friend, I just—’  
  
    Mickey, overcome with annoyance and hurt, barked, ‘We’re not _friends_. You’re just some guy that lives under the same fuckin’ roof as me.’  
  
    Ian felt hurt bloom in his chest at the words and took a step back, before turning around and leaving the basement. Mickey didn’t call after him.  
  
  
  
**2013**  
  
Mickey and Harry broke up three months after the dinner anyway. Harry had to move a few towns over for a farming job and asked Mickey to come with him, but Mickey refused because he didn’t want to leave the town or his family. Mickey didn’t really talk to anyone besides Iggy and Mandy a week after the break up.  
  
    A month after the dinner Mickey and Ian were on good terms again, but Ian and even Lip were included in the don’t-talk-to list after the break up. Fiona worried a fair bit since he rarely came up from the basement except for work, but two weeks after the break up, Mickey resurfaced almost as good as new. He was still heart-broken, but he was Mickey again.  
  
    Over the next four months, Ian and Mickey spent more time together. Ian had come out to Lip and Fiona, one on purpose and one on accident, but he still hadn’t said anything to Mickey. He even managed to hide it during his first manic episode and then his depressive episode. Even if he hadn’t, Mickey probably would’ve forgotten since they were all so focused on helping Ian and getting him to accept his diagnosis. There was even talk of moving back somewhere less remote, but the local psychiatrist said that the best thing for Ian was routine. It had been a rough road, but they had gotten through it and Ian took his meds now.  
  
    Now, though, he didn’t really know how to tell Mickey he was gay. It felt like it had been too long for it not to be weird if he told him, especially since he used to have a crush on him, which he was totally and completely over.  
  
    This was mostly due to Ian dating someone. Brandon was great — handsome, funny, and really nice. He was also in the closet, which worked out pretty well for Ian. It wasn’t just sex, though; they were in a relationship, but there was no pressure to tell anyone or do any PDA, or that’s what Ian thought was their dynamic anyway.  
  
    Brandon came over one day after school. Just from that, Ian was concerned that something was going on, because Brandon had never really come over before. It was only them and Iggy there, and Iggy barely knew Brandon, so he seemed to be questioning his presence there as well as he played video games with them.  
  
    Finally, after a few minutes of small talk, Brandon announced, ‘Anyway, babe, I came over to tell you that I finally came out to my family!’  
  
    Ian’s blood ran cold because his idiot boyfriend had just unintentionally outed him to Iggy, who was sure to tell Mickey. He didn’t want Iggy to know. He didn’t want anyone else to know. He wasn’t ready for this. He didn’t say anything, just stared at Brandon in a panic.  
  
    And Brandon, the hapless moron, didn’t even register the silent scream sounding in his boyfriend’s head, he was just confused about why Ian hadn’t jumped into his arms yet. He thought they could celebrate, maybe with a blow job or something, but Ian was too busy with his own impending panic and doom to congratulate his boyfriend yet.  
  
    Brandon tilted his head at the frozen Ian and confused Iggy before running his hand through Ian’s buzzcut, asking, ‘Babe? You alright there?’  
  
    ‘“ _Babe_ ”?’ Iggy repeated, eyebrows furrowing as he turned to Ian for explanation.  
  
    Meanwhile, Ian was having a panic attack as his brain tried to figure out how to spin this. In the end, he settled for a, ‘I—I can’t do this right now.’  
  
    Before anyone could say anything, he jumped off the couch and ran for the door. Just like when he found out Mickey was gay, he kept running and running, really having no idea what else to do. His whole family ran from their problems; why should he be any different?  
  
  
When Mickey came home from work, everyone was already home and crowded around the kitchen table. The atmosphere was heavy and Mickey immediately knew something was wrong. Everyone turned to look expectantly at the sound of the door shutting, but they all seemed disappointed to see it was only him. For a moment, Mickey was confused, and sort of offended, but then noticed something.  
  
    ‘Where’s Ian?’  
  
    ‘His…friend came over and said something that upset him,’ Fiona explained. ‘So he ran away, and he hasn’t come back yet.’  
  
    ‘It’s been four hours!’ Debbie cried, clearly worried for her big brother being out in the cold alone. ‘Has he been taking his meds?’  
  
    ‘Yeah, he has.’ Although this was true, concern still flowed through Mickey. ‘What friend?’  
  
    ‘Brandon…’ Mandy answered hesitantly. ‘That was his name, wasn’t it, Ig?’  
  
    Iggy nodded. ‘Yeah, had no idea who the fuck he was, but he came ’round and sat down like he owned the fuckin’ place.’  
  
    ‘You’ve never heard of him, Mands?’ Lip asked, frowning.  
  
    Mandy shook her head. ‘I’ve seen him at school, but Ian never said anything about knowing him.’  
  
    ‘I can’t believe he would hide him from us,’ Debbie cried. ‘We don’t care about Ian having a boyfriend! We all know he’s gay, and Mickey’s gay, and we don’t care about him. Why would we care about Ian being gay?’  
  
    Mickey couldn’t really believe that the word “gay” could be used so much in one sentence, and he also couldn’t really believe his ears. ‘What?’  
  
    ‘Debs,’ Fiona hissed, nudging her with her elbow.  
  
    Carl looked at Mickey in confusion. ‘You didn’t know? But if you didn’t know…who told Ian where the gay wieners go?’  
  
    ‘Pretty sure he figured it out on his own, bud,’ Lip said, lighting his cigarette before addressing the two families. ‘Look, damage has been done, Mickey finally knows about Ian, but can we focus on the fact that Ian’s gone?’  
  
    ‘Maybe Ian just needs some time away,’ Fiona said, ‘He’s a big boy. If I text him and he texts back, I say we leave it to him to come back when he wants.’  
  
    ‘What?’ Mickey snapped, incredulous at what she was suggesting. ‘No way, we’ve got to find him! Kid’s tough, but he ain’t weather-proof.’  
  
    ‘I’ll text to see where he is and then we can go get him?’ Mandy suggested, already beginning the text.  
  
    ‘Yeah, you do that,’ Mickey said sarcastically. ‘I’m heading out to look for him _now_. Text me if he texts you.’  
  
    He then rushed out the door to the sound of everyone’s objections, grabbing Ian’s beanie and coat on the way. He knew going to look for Ian by himself in the shitty van was probably a bad idea, but he didn’t care. It was a worse idea leaving Ian out there somewhere, cold and alone, and he knew how he probably felt at that moment. He knew how he would react if his boyfriend had outed him, which seemed to be what had happened with Ian.  
  
    At that thought, he suddenly realised where Ian was, even if it was the stupidest place to go in this weather. He drove ten minutes up the road to the abandoned house and parked outside the gate of the property. Jumping out of the van, he rushed up and climbed in through the window, collapsing on the wooden floor. He huffed in annoyance before pulling himself up and shining the light of his phone around the room, jumping when it came to Ian.  
  
    Slamming a hand against his pounding chest, he snapped, ‘Jesus Christ, Ian. Scared the shit outta me.’  
  
    Ian didn’t say anything, just played with a stick and pushed it into the floor. He looked all of seven years old.  
  
    Mickey came over to where Ian was sitting, taking a seat next to him and it felt like two years ago. He placed his phone upside down, letting the flashlight on the back light up the room. As he passed Ian his coat and beanie, he commented, ’Freddy’s quiet.’  
  
    ‘He’s dead,’ Ian responded emotionlessly.  
  
    Mickey frowned. ‘What?’  
  
    Ian shrugged, shrugging on his coat and shoving his beanie on. ‘Few weeks ago. Don’t know why, but Howler had to put him down.’  
  
    ‘Shit,’ Mickey breathed before realising why they were here. He could feel bad about Freddy some other time. ‘Why haven’t you been answering your phone, Gallagher? Other Gallaghers were worried about you…Milkoviches, too.’  
  
    Ian sniffed in annoyance. ‘Phone’s dead. Didn’t want to face anyone anyway.’ They sat in silence for a few moments. Ian still wouldn’t look at him. Mickey was about to speak, but Ian beat him to it, ‘Guess you know now.’  
  
    Mickey scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. ‘Yeah, Debs kinda blurted it out. Apparently everyone but me knew.’  
  
    ‘Only told Fiona, Lip, and Mandy,’ Ian muttered, raising his eyebrows. ‘Guess Iggy blabbed.’  
  
    Mickey shrugged. ‘I dunno…They all seemed to know already.’  
  
    ‘Great.’  
  
    ‘Even though I get you not wanting to tell anyone, you told those three…and you know I’m gay…so why didn’t you wanna tell me?’  
  
    Ian’s jaw clenched, clearly uncomfortable.  
  
    Before he could answer, Mickey said, ‘Actually, don’t worry ’bout it, man. I don’t need to know. All I need to know is if you’re alright.’  
  
    Ian seemed to relax at that. He shrugged, still not meeting Mickey’s eyes. ‘Boyfriend outing me to your brother wasn’t exactly the ideal way for it to happen, and I wasn’t ready, but…I’m alright, I guess. Could’ve been worse.’  
  
    ‘Want me to fuck the prick up?’ Mickey offered, not really knowing what else to say.  
  
    Ian laughed a little, finally looking up at Mickey. ‘Nah, he was just excited about being out. He’s a stupid fuckin’ idiot, who I will be breaking up for more reasons than that one, but he didn’t do it to be a dick.’  
  
    ‘Better off without him, man.’  
  
    ‘I dunno.’ Ian smirked. ‘He has a great ass. Be sad to see that go.’  
  
    ‘Couldn’t have been _that_ good, and you’ve seen mine enough to have a pretty high bar to judge off of,’ Mickey joked. ‘My ass is the best thing about me, so you _know_ it’s the best one in this damn town.’  
  
    ‘I don’t know,’ Ian teased, ‘You _do_ have really nice legs.’  
  
    ‘All of me is pretty fuckin’ nice, Gallagher.’  
  
    A grin spread across Ian’s face, rising in one corner of his lips before sweeping to the other side of his mouth. Mickey really couldn’t stand Ian’s smile. It had always been…irritatingly adorable, but for some reason, now it seemed even worse.  
  
    ‘Yeah,’ Ian muttered, glancing away to hide his smile.  
  
    It was pointless, because Mickey’d already seen it now. Mickey paused for a minute, just looking at Ian in the dim light lit by his phone, before letting himself grin too. He slapped Ian’s knee to get his attention, standing up.  
  
    ‘C’mon, tough guy, time to get out of this freezing shit hole,’ Mickey announced. ‘I got the van, so we don’t have to walk our asses home.’ Mickey almost jumped when Ian grabbed onto his pant leg.  
  
    Ian looked up at him hesitantly. ‘Could we…just…not go home yet? Like, we can leave here if you want, but I need a while before I can go home.’  
  
    Mickey nodded, rubbing a hand against the beanie on Ian’s head. ‘Sure, man. Come on, we’ll go to the diner.’  
  
  
Ian had to keep reminding himself that this wasn’t a date. Mickey didn’t look really fucking attractive in the moonlight, he was over his crush on Mickey, and this _wasn’t_ a date. This was _not_ the same as what Mickey and Harry had done on Baker’s Point. Mickey and Harry had probably kissed and had sex, but Ian and Mickey were just having their dinner. They were sitting in the open boot of the van, legs dangling out as they ate the burgers they had gotten from the diner. It could have been considered to be romantic since they _were_ at Baker’s Point, overlooking the town, but it _wasn’t_ because this _wasn’t_ a date.  
  
    ‘So,’ Mickey started after they’d finished their argument about whether Seagal or Van Damme was better. ‘Was Brandon your first boyfriend?’  
  
    Ian sighed and nodded. It wasn’t exactly true, but Ian didn't really feel like talking about the guys he hooked up with before Brandon. Those guys weren’t boyfriends, though, so his answer was partly true.  
  
    ‘Despite the idiot outing you…was he good to you?’ Mickey asked.  
  
    Ian suddenly felt embarrassed and disappointed. Mickey was acting like an older brother, which…no. Ian knew this wasn’t a date, it was one friend comforting another after something shitty had happened, but he couldn’t help but hope when Mickey decided they’d go up to Baker’s Point. He had always expected that, after he came out, Mickey and he would just fall together easily, like Mickey would just suddenly realise he’d liked Ian all along. For some reason, with that thought, it had all felt within his control then. All that had been keeping them apart was the fact that Mickey thought Ian was straight, but then he would and they would date. Although he had known all along that it didn’t really work like that, he still felt disappointed that it wasn’t turning out that way.  
  
    ‘Yeah, he was fine,’ Ian said shortly, wanting to change topics now.  
  
    ‘I just want to make sure he didn’t push you around or anything. I was with a few guys before Sam and I know how aggressive they can be when they’re not out. They can pressure you and shit. Some are good, though, like Harry, but still—’  
  
    This wasn’t a date. It wasn’t a fucking date. Boys don’t talk about their exes on dates with another boy. It wasn’t a fucking date. Fuck.  
  
    ‘Mick, I really don’t feel like talking about this right now,’ Ian snapped, not really meaning to, but his temper was getting the better of him. ‘And I’m not fuckin’ _helpless_. I can handle myself, so I don’t need you worrying about whether he pushed me around, because he didn’t, okay?’  
  
    Ian didn’t bother looking at Mickey, just knowing there was probably hurt in his eyes that he always tried to hide. When Ian was looking, though, he was always unsuccessful, and Ian didn’t really want to see it.  
  
    ‘Well, fuck me for giving a shit, you prick,’ Mickey spat back. ‘I don’t think you’re helpless, but even strong people can get hurt by manipulative assholes, _trust me_. I get that you’re upset and something shitty happened, but don’t have a go at me when all I’m doing is looking out for you.’  
  
    ‘I don’t need you looking out for me. You’re not my family or my friend! You said so yourself,’ Ian barked.  
  
    There was a long pause after that. Ian regretted saying it as soon as it left his mouth, because if there was one thing he’d learnt over the past year, it’s that they were family. After all the shit that had gone down, all the drama in the household, they were all family. Through Fiona acting out and getting with rough guys, through Iggy almost falling apart at trying to handle the household alone while Fiona was doing that, through Lip almost dropping out of school, through Debbie being bullied at school, through Ian being diagnosed and finally getting help — they all handled it together. Mickey had even apologised for saying Ian wasn’t his friend, because they knew that was bullshit as well, and now Ian was using it against him.  
  
    ‘Whatever, man,’ Mickey said, sounding tired. ‘Let’s go home, alright? Then maybe your fuckin’ family — your real one, anyway — can know you’re okay. You gotta take your meds anyway.’  
  
    Ian didn’t say anything, but followed Mickey back into the front seat where they drove back in silence.  
  
  
After an hour or two discussion with Fiona about how it’s not okay to run away like that, and how everyone accepted him, they all finally went to bed. Ian lay in bed, Lip and Carl snoring away in their own beds, and tried to get to sleep.  
  
    He just couldn’t stop thinking about what he had said to Mickey. He wanted to apologise, but he was also really stubborn and _didn’t_ want to. However, he also knew that he wouldn’t sleep if he didn’t say _something_. Letting out a harsh sigh, he slipped out of bed and headed down to the basement. He didn’t knock when he walked in, but luckily Mickey was only reading.  
  
    Mickey glanced up to look at Ian, but didn’t bother saying anything. He just returned to his book and ignored as the redhead took a seat at the end of the bed.  
  
    Ian picked at the quilt cover, trying to figure out what he wanted to say. He didn’t have any reason as to why he said what he did really, so he didn’t want to try and explain it, but he couldn’t just apologise and say nothing else. So instead he stayed silent, waiting for Mickey to snap like he always did. Maybe by then, he would have something to say.  
  
    ‘For fuck’s sake, Ian, _what_?!’ Mickey barked, snapping his book shut.  
  
     _Right on cue_ , Ian thought to himself before saying, ‘I just wanted to…apologise…I guess?’  
  
    Mickey arched an eyebrow as he tossed his book onto his bedside table. ‘You _guess_?’  
  
    Ian shook his head. ‘No—I mean, I do want to apologise. I shouldn’t have said that you weren’t my family, and I shouldn’t have yelled at you when you were only looking out for me…I just…I don’t really want to talk about Brandon.’  
  
    Mickey shrugged. ‘Alright, man, we won’t talk about Brandon anymore. Sorry I brought it up.’  
  
    ‘’s okay,’ Ian murmured, looking down at his lap. He didn’t know what else to say, but he also didn’t want to leave just yet.  
  
    Ian and Mickey had never been that close. They were friends and they cared, but they had never had a deep conversation like Ian and Fiona had, or been as intimate as Ian and Mandy, or had inside jokes like Mickey and Lip. They were just living in different, but close, worlds, spinning around each other but never quite touching. Ian wanted more, though. He figures if this stupid crush was going to be persistent, then he might as well get closer to Mickey. He had kind of always longed to have another close friend who was gay, someone who understood, but wasn’t trying to get into Ian’s pants. Mickey could be that person, even if Ian wanted to get into Mickey’s pants.  
  
    ‘Mick…’ Ian began nervously, not really knowing Mickey’s reaction. ‘Do you mind if I stay in here for a bit?’  
  
    Mickey’s lips pulled up slightly at the side and, without a word, he moved over so Ian could sit next to him on the bed. Ian shuffled awkwardly up to lean against the headboard next to Mickey. Out of nowhere, the ridiculously soft and caring smile on Mickey’s face caused tears to start falling down Ian’s face.  
  
    He didn’t really get why he was crying. Usually he never cried in front of anyone but Fiona, but it had just been an emotional night and Mickey understood. So it didn’t really matter and he wasn’t really embarrassed, because Mickey pulled him into a tight hug without saying anything, nuzzling the side of Ian’s head with his own. It was probably the best thing for Ian right now, and he was glad Mickey knew what to do without even asking.  
  
  
  
**2014**  
  
Ian spent the day before his eighteenth birthday in the hospital. He had been on a first date with this guy, Malcolm, who’d suggested they go dirt-biking. Ian had been really excited and hadn’t noticed that Malcolm put the wrong tyres on the bike. Ian had been riding down a hill when his tyre popped. He had panicked and broke too fast, causing the bike to flip and send him flying into some trees. Luckily, he had only ended up with a few stitches on his forehead and a dislocated shoulder, but the reaction from his family was worse than the injuries themselves.  
  
    He had been sitting in his room, waiting for the doctor to come back, when his family had swarmed in like a plague of loud, _loud_ locusts. At least Iggy, Debbie, and Carl weren’t present. It didn’t need to be anymore crowded in there. He gave the doctor, who had returned, a look of apology as they all started talking at him at once.  
  
    The doctor said, ‘I’ll let you speak with your family and be back in a moment,’ but no one had heard him or noticed when he left.  
  
    At Mandy’s demand, Ian quickly explained what had happened in an attempt to calm them all, but it only seemed to make them more worked up.  
  
    ‘Is that fucking prick hurt, too?’ Lip snapped. ‘Has he even come to apologise for letting you on such a faulty fucking bike?!’  
  
    Ian sighed. ‘No, he hasn’t, but I don’t really care.’  
  
    ‘Well, I do!’ Mandy growled. ‘Iggy, Mickey, and I might just have to go and beat his fuckin’ ass.’  
  
    ‘Going right now,’ Mickey said, turning to go out the door. ‘Might just give him the same injuries. What’d you say you got, Gallagher? Broken arm and cracked skull?’  
  
    ‘Mickey, come the fuck on, don’t do that.’ Ian sighed. ‘He’s just an idiot. And, besides, it’s a dislocated shoulder and a few forehead stitches. It’s no big deal, guys.’  
  
    ‘Well, I know who you’re not hanging out with anymore,’ Fiona said.  
  
    ‘Wasn’t going to anyway.’ Ian pressed a hand against his forehead gingerly, feeling a throbbing ache coming on. ‘Can you guys stop already?’  
  
    ‘Okay, we’ll leave, but Mickey, can you take Ian home? He’s going to be here while longer and we’ve got to get back to work,’ Fiona said.  
  
    Mickey nodded. ‘Sure. You guys wanna take the van and I’ll take the truck?’  
  
    Fiona handed Mickey the keys before heading out the door. Lip told Mickey he’d tell Bill he wasn’t coming back for today, and Mickey thanked him. Mandy followed after Lip, leaving them alone.  
  
    Mickey leant forward, brushing Ian’s hair back off his forehead gently to see the stitches. He whistled lowly. ‘That’s one big fuckin’ cut, Gallagher. You bleed a lot?’  
  
    Ian shrugged. ‘Head wound, so yeah, but it ain’t that bad.’  
  
    ‘Great first date, then?’ Mickey laughed.  
  
    ‘Oh, the best,’ Ian joked, scratching at his hair, which was caked in blood.  
  
    His hair was now shaved on either side, but long and slicked back on the top. Well, it usually was, but the crash had caused it to go everywhere. Mickey’s hair was similar, but, unlike Ian’s, it was perfectly styled right now.  
  
    It’s been a little less than a year since Ian came out to his family and, since then, things have been different. Ian’s more comfortable bringing guys home, not that there’s been many in such a small town. No one at school, besides the guy’s he’s dated, knows he’s gay. He didn’t want to get shit from anyone about it, especially the Hallowfield boys who were still hassling Ian every chance they got. They had already called Mickey, who was now out to the town, a fag, which had caused Ian to punch Cooper in the face. The beatdown he had gotten for that was worth it, though Mickey didn’t think so, but he didn’t want to give them anymore ammo than they already had.  
  
    Iggy had moved out of the house and into his girlfriend, Giovanna’s, place. It wasn’t too far from their house and he still gave whatever extra money he had to keep them going. Lip had ended up going to college at Carnegie Mellon, but was home for the break at the moment. The rooms were then switched around again, giving Mandy her own room as she moved into Iggy’s old room, Debbie her own room since Mandy was gone, and Carl and Ian’s room now only had them in it. Lip stayed in Carl and Ian’s room when he was home. It was a good situation for everyone, except Ian, who desperately wanted his own room, but whatever. Apparently he still needed to be babysat, even though he was steady and had been for months now.  
  
    They had also gotten a truck as Mickey had gotten promoted to being an accountant for Bill, and he thought they needed an extra set of wheels. Ian had also left Linda’s store so she could hire Debbie and he started working at the bar Monica had worked at. They liked him there and gave him a lot of hours. Carl took Lip’s job at Bill’s store, but Lip could work during break as well. Carl wasn’t really allowed around any of the hardware, though.  
  
    Mickey and Ian had gotten a lot closer since Lip left for college. They spent a lot of late nights smoking and talking in Mickey’s room. Mandy had been a bit jealous to start with, since Mickey was totally monopolising her best friend, but then she ended up making friends with this girl at school, Ellie. She still cared a little bit, but she knew that Mickey and Ian could connect and understand each other in a way that she couldn’t. She was happy they had each other, even if it was only as friends. She and Ellie had been secretly placing bets on when they would get together, though. Mandy had by the end of the year and Ellie had within the next few months. When Fiona had found out, they thought they were busted, but she had just placed her bet on never. She thought they were both too cowardly to ever admit the feelings the girls were sure they had.  
  
    Meanwhile, Ian would’ve agreed with Fiona had he known about the bet. He still liked Mickey; he still liked him a lot. That’s why when Mickey did stuff like push his hair back from his forehead, or rest his head on his shoulder when he was tired, or even just bump knees when they played video games, it made Ian feel warm and ridiculously nice. However, he thought that he would never feel comfortable enough to tell Mickey his feelings.  
  
    ‘You’ve gotta find someone who’s better at this shit, man.’ Mickey grinned. ‘Take me, for instance, I am the best fuckin’ boyfriend anyone could ask for. You’ve gotta find someone as perfect and amazing as me.’  
  
    Of course, Mickey didn’t ever make it easy on Ian.  
  
    Ian laughed. ‘You’re not _that_ great, jackass.’  
  
    He also laughed in his head, but it was more hysterical laughter. The kind you get when something is driving you _fucking insane_ , like the boy you liked joking about how you should date someone like him.  
  
*  
  
Since Ian couldn’t really do much after he was injured, his party was cancelled and he spent his birthday with his family. They played video games, and had Ian’s favourite meal for dinner. They gave him gifts — a few more plaid shirts, a new butterfly knife to replace the one Carl’d lost, and a coupon for a free meal at the diner. Then Lip, Mickey, Mandy, and Ian all went to the movies.  
  
    They saw a new action flick Ian had wanted to see for a while. Lip bought him a huge tub of popcorn, Mandy had made sure Ian could sit next to Mickey, and Mickey had whispered jokes in his ear and grinned at him every time he laughed in response. It was the best night Ian had had in a long time and he didn’t even care that his party had been cancelled.  
  
    Once everyone else had gone to bed, Ian stayed up and hung out with Mickey in his room. His feet were rested by Mickey’s head on the headboard as he smoked his joint with his one usable arm. Mickey was a lot more chatty tonight for some reason. Ian didn’t question it, though; he just considered it his birthday present.  
  
    ‘So, eighteen, Gallagher! How’s it feel?’ Mickey jostled Ian’s foot playfully.  
  
    ‘How did eighteen feel for you? It feels like any other day, Mick. Nothing too special.’  
  
    ‘You’re a fuckin’ adult now, man. It’s totally a thing.’  
  
    Ian laughed, sitting up awkwardly. ‘Yeah, an adult who’s already done everything that is now legal for him…and some that isn’t.’  
  
    ‘You haven’t voted,’ Mickey argued, clearly out of points.  
  
    Ian rolled his eyes, but nodded. ‘Yeah, guess you’re right, but I’ve done everything fun.’  
  
    ‘I bet that’s not true. You’re exaggerating, Gallagher,’ Mickey teased.  
  
    Ian shook his head. ‘No fuckin’ way. I’ve done a lot of shit you wouldn’t even believe.’  
  
    ‘A’ight,’ Mickey huffed, leaning up and grabbing a beer from his drawers. ‘Let’s test that fact. Never have I ever.’  
  
    Ian rolled his eyes again as Mickey plopped the bottle down on the bed. ‘Really, one warm beer? I thought I turned eighteen today, not twelve?’  
  
    ‘Fuck off, man, you can only drink one beer anyways. So shut up and play the game.’  
  
    Ian sighed and thought for a while about what to ask. When he thought of one, he shot Mickey a smirk and said, ‘Never have I ever…been arrested.’  
  
    ‘Fuck you, man.’ Mickey laughed before drinking some beer and saying, ‘They let me go within the hour. Barely counts.’  
  
    ‘But you still stole the Harris’ pot plants when you were drunk,’ Ian snickered.  
  
    Mickey flipped Ian off. ‘A’ight birthday boy, laugh it up. At least I’ve never injured myself trying to impress a guy.’  
  
    Ian took a sip. ‘I didn’t realise the water was that shallow, and Dave still said he thought it was pretty badass.’  
  
    ‘You broke your fuckin’ tailbone, man.’ Mickey grinned. ‘And Dave’s straight.’  
  
    ‘Or so you think.’ Ian winked. ‘Never have I ever…attempted to flirt my way out of a speeding ticket!’  
  
    ‘Fuck you.’ Mickey took a sip. ‘This game is ridiculous when we both know what we’ve done.’  
  
    Ian shrugged. ‘You were the one who suggested it.’  
  
    ‘Fine.’ Mickey rubbed his nose awkwardly before saying, ‘Never have I ever…ridden someone.’  
  
    Ian arched his eyebrows, passing Mickey the bottle. ‘Gold star top, man.’ He paused for a moment before daring to say, ‘Guessin’ you are too?’  
  
    ‘Nah, man, just never ridden someone before.’ Mickey laughed before taking the sip himself.  
  
    ‘Okay.’ Ian sat up, suddenly much more interested in the game. ‘Never have I ever bitten someone so hard they bled.’  
  
    Mickey took another sip. ‘Lemme just say that Sam did _not_ appreciate that shit. Was going for a playful bite, accidentally tore out his fuckin’ nipple ring.’  
  
    Ian cracked up at that. He threw his head back and squeezed his eyes shut, laughing so hard his stomach hurt. ‘Holy fuck. That’s hilarious. Didn’t even realise Sam had a nipple ring.’  
  
    ‘What about when you walked in on us?’ Mickey asked, eyebrows furrowing.  
  
    ‘Had my eye on something else.’ Ian glanced down at his lap, not meaning to say that. He quickly schooled his features and looked back up, saying, ‘Your turn.’  
  
    ‘Never have I ever…had a crush on a friend.’  
  
    Ian rolled his eyes at that one, taking a sip. ‘I can’t believe you haven’t.’  
  
    Mickey frowned, seeming confused. ‘I have…’  
  
    ‘That’s not how the game works, Mick!’ Ian laughed. ‘You’re supposed to say something you _haven’t_ done, dumbass.’  
  
    Mickey shrugged. ‘What-the fuck-ever, Gallagher, I’m nosy and playing it this way. I’ll drink too.’  
  
    A ten minutes later, Mickey had started drinking Jack while Ian was still sipping the one beer. They were both pleasantly buzzed and laughing at Ian’s story about how he had tried to do some interesting sex stuff with wax, but had set Brandon’s curtains on fire in the process. They weren’t really playing the game anymore, just sharing funny stories.  
  
    ‘Always thought you were a kinky shit,’ Mickey snickered.  
  
    ‘Shut the fuck up.’ Ian rolled his eyes, sprawling out on the bed and looking up at Mickey. ‘Now, come on, tell me _your_ worst date.’  
  
    Mickey sighed, leaning back on the bed as he thought about it. ‘Okay. You remember that party two years, and Harry and I went up to Baker’s Point to sleep?’  
  
    Ian nodded, sitting up eagerly for the story. That was a bad date? Ian had to fucking know how that date ended up being really bad. Fucking Harry fucked up, he hoped.  
  
    ‘Well. Once Harry fell asleep, I couldn’t sleep because I was thinking about…stuff. Anyway, I had to piss and I didn’t want to wake up Harry, so I headed into the forest. I didn’t want to piss anywhere within hearing distance because we were at the start of our relationship, ya know? It was a whole…thing. Anyway, I went into the forest, pissed, and then realised I had gone in too deep. I was lost, and I had left my phone back at the truck. I spent the fuckin’ night in the forest with one blanket, while my boyfriend was sleeping in all our blankets back at the truck. Almost fuckin’ froze to death, man.’ Mickey laughed, taking a drag of the cigarette he’d just lit.  
  
    Ian burst out laughing, unable to stop himself. ‘Fuckin’ hell. And to think I was so jealous of that guy. I was totally pissed when you went off with him—’ Ian stopped himself short when he saw the confused look on Mickey’s face, realising what he was really admitting to. ‘Oh…fuck.’  
  
    ‘You were jealous?’ Mickey repeated, frowning. ‘But…you never…I mean…’  
  
    ‘I’m going to bed.’ Ian stood quickly, almost toppling over, but Mickey caught his good wrist before he could. ‘Let go, Mick.’  
  
    ‘No, Ian. Did you…like me or something?’  
  
    Ian groaned, pulling his wrist out of his hand and covering his blushing red face. ‘This is so fuckin’ mortifying. Yes, I had a crush on you, okay?’  
  
    Mickey snickered.  
  
    Ian could’ve punched him. ’Stop laughing at me, you dick!’  
  
    Mickey stopped him as he went to leave again. ‘No, no, man. I’m laughing because what I was thinking about, the reason I couldn’t get to sleep, was because I had totally thought you were jealous. I was tryna figure it out for months, but then you danced with that girl at the party and then I thought maybe I’d thought wrong. I was lying around wondering whether you were straight or not.’  
  
    Ian’s face heated up further at the thought of Mickey caring so much about his sexuality. ‘And…why did you care?’  
  
    Mickey shrugged, the buzz making him feel pretty loose and truthful. He didn’t really care what he was saying. ‘If I knew you _were_ gay, then I’d probably would’ve made a pass at you, to be honest. I mean, not really _then_ , because I was with Harry, but I used to think about it, so then I guess I was just curious.’  
  
    Ian felt a bit sick at the total missed opportunity, slowly moving to sit back on the bed. ‘Why didn’t you?’  
  
    Mickey made a face. ‘I dunno. When you _did_ come out, you were pretty upset. Didn’t really think about it, and then you were dating a bunch of different dudes anyway. Never occurred to me again.’  
  
    Upon this new knowledge, Ian felt confident in what he said next, ‘Does it occur to you now?’  
  
    Mickey’s eyes flickered up to meet Ian’s and saw the heat there. One look at Ian’s smirk was all it took and he leant up, wrapping a hand around the nape of his neck and pulled him down, kissing him deeply.  
  
    Ian was disappointed when Mickey pulled back suddenly. ‘What is it, Mick?’  
  
    Mickey looked like he was about to object to what they were doing, but then he looked into Ian’s wide, green eyes and just breathed, ‘ _Fuck it_ ,’ before pulling him back in.  
  
*  
  
If there was one thing Mandy knew, it was that her brother and Ian were hooking up. Her sisterly intuition was that good. Also the fact that she had accidentally walked in on them once in the shower without their knowledge, scarring her for life, also helped. But it was mostly the intuition thing.  
  
    She didn’t plan to tell Ellie about this new development, because Mickey and Ian clearly wanted it to be private. Also because she didn’t want to lose the bet, but that was a whole other thing. However, she did take every opportunity to torture them with it.  
  
    When Ian scrambled up from Mickey’s room in the early morning, there she would be, waiting for him at the kitchen table with a confused and innocent, ‘What were you doing in Mickey’s room?’ When Mickey had hickeys all over his chest and Mandy saw him with his shirt off, she would ask where they came from. It was fun watching them try and come up with excuses, especially when they were gold like ‘Mickey wet the bed and I was helping him change the sheets’ or ‘Lotta mosquitoes around these days, douchebag. Apparently they love me.’  
  
    On one hand, she really wanted to talk to her best friend and brother about it. She wanted to make sure they were going about this the right way. Were they boyfriends or fuck buddies? Were they both okay with whatever arrangement it was? If this shit went sideways, Mandy knew she’d get caught in the line of fire, so she wanted to make sure it was all good. On the other hand, she didn’t want to get involved at all, because maybe it would be easier to stay out of it later if she had plausible deniability. Still, she _really_ wanted to talk about it to someone.  
  
    So, she did the only thing she knew to do and she told Lip. She figured that he was going back to college soon, so he wouldn’t be in the way and he could keep his mouth shut. He did that for all those years of knowing about Mickey being gay.  
  
    After explaining everything to him, the one thing she didn’t expect was full-on laughter. She scowled, swatting at his arm. ‘Shut up, dickbreath! This is a serious situation.’  
  
    Lip wiped at his eyes. ‘I’m sorry, Mands. It’s just…you think this is news?’  
  
    Mandy gave him a confused look. ‘The fuck do you mean?’  
  
    ‘Carl walked in on them in the basement, Debbie and Fiona walked in on them in Carl and Ian’s room, and Iggy saw them doing it in the van when he visited a few nights ago and we all thought they were at the store,’ Lip explained. ‘I’ve not walked in on them, thank fucking God, but I heard Fiona and Debbie talking about it.’  
  
    ‘Then why did no one tell me?’ Mandy snapped.  
  
    ‘Because Fiona wanted to win the bet.’  
  
    ‘That is so sneaky and underhanded.’  
  
    They both jumped in surprise as the front door slammed open then and Ellie rushed in, colourful dreads flying every which way.  
  
    ‘Mandy Milkovich, you owe me money!’ she cried out, coming to a sharp stop when she spotted Lip and Mandy in the kitchen. ‘I just saw Ian and Mickey going at it in an alley behind the bar!’  
  
    Lip gave Mandy a look. ‘Yes, Fiona is so sneaky and underhanded, not at all like yourself.’  
  
    ‘Fuck off.’ Mandy huffed and gave Ellie her money. Ellie gave her a confused look at her unsurprised reaction and Mandy explained, ‘We all know, Ellie. Everyone’s caught them fucking once or twice.’  
  
    ‘Damn, they _really_ aren’t good at hiding it.’ Ellie shook her head.  
  
    Lip and Mandy nodded in agreement.  
  
*  
  
Ian pressed one more kiss to Mickey’s lips before pulling away, panting and doing up his jeans. ‘Shit, I cannot believe how long we’ve been getting away with this without anyone finding out.’  
  
    Mickey laughed. ‘I know. Dumb motherfuckers.’  
  
    Ian huffed out a chuckle. ‘Alright, I gotta get back to work. See you at home?’  
  
    ‘Yeah, man.’  
  
    Mickey made his way home with a grin on his face, which quickly dropped when he came home to see Ellie, Mandy, and Lip seated around the table. They were talking quietly, gossiping like a bunch of old ladies, but abruptly stopped when Mickey walked in. They all gave him innocent grins, which immediately made him suspicious because not one of those bastards were innocent.  
  
    Mickey frowned, taking a seat at the table. ‘What the fuck is up with you people?’  
  
    Ellie blurted out, ‘We’re just glad you and Ian are boyfriends already. I mean, it took so fucking long.’ She didn’t know that they were supposed to be keeping quiet, and was just so excited to share the news with anyone.  
  
    Mickey’s eyes grew wide and he breathed, ‘Oh, fuck no. You fuckin’ know?!’  
  
    Mandy sighed in annoyance, Lip rolled his eyes, and Ellie’s eyes went wide at their reactions, quickly realising she wasn’t supposed to blurt that out.  
  
    She gulped, turning back to Mickey. ‘Only…a little bit.’  
  
    ‘Who else knows?’ Mickey demanded.  
  
    ‘Uh, sort of everyone in the house…’ Mandy admitted. ‘And Iggy…but no one else!’  
  
    ‘That is not fuckin’ good,’ Mickey groaned, leaning back in his chair. ‘Ian’s gonna fuckin’ freak out.’  
  
    Lip frowned. ‘Why the fuck would Ian freak out?’  
  
    ‘He doesn’t want anyone knowing yet. I don’t know why, so don’t ask me, but he doesn’t. And don’t use words like “boyfriends”. We’re just fuck buddies, that’s it.’  
  
    ‘This is bullshit!’ Mandy snapped. ‘Fuck buddies? That’s fuckin’ dumb. Why aren’t you dating and telling all of us, so we can mock you?’  
  
    ‘God, I wonder why Ian doesn’t want anyone knowing,’ Lip said sarcastically.  
  
    ‘He’s probably freaked since you already live together and he hasn’t been in a real relationship before,’ Ellie guessed. ‘And you’re not even in a relationship anyway.’  
  
    ‘Which is still bullshit,’ Mandy murmured.  
  
    ‘Fuck off, Mands. This is _our_ decision, not yours. It’s actually nothing to do with the fuckin’ lot of you, so if you could keep your traps shut, it’d be greatly appreciated,’ Mickey barked.  
  
    ‘Fine,’ Lip sighed, standing up. ‘But maybe you wanna lock the door next time you’re going at it or else someone’s gonna walk in…again.’  
  
    ‘Yeah, and avoid fucking in public,’ Ellie added, standing up to leave as well. ‘You’re not nearly as quiet as you like to think.’  
  
    Mickey turned uncharacteristically red at that, shoving his head into his hands. ‘Fucking hell.’ After a moment, he realised that Mandy hadn’t left yet. He looked up to see her frowning. ‘What?’  
  
    ‘When Ian liked you, I told him not to do this. I told him that you wouldn’t feel safe and you’d feel like if you broke up, you’d have to leave the family…I’m just thinking that maybe I warned the wrong guy.’ Mandy then stood and went upstairs, leaving Mickey to think about what she said.  
  
*  
  
A few months went by successfully with Ian never finding out that everyone knew. When he did find out, it was at the most inopportune time. Christmas was a time for joy, after all. However, Iggy was also sort of an idiot. A caring, loving idiot, but an idiot nonetheless. It wasn’t even his fault, really, since everyone was just used to thinking of Ian and Mickey as a couple now, even if they didn’t tell Ian that. It didn’t occur to him to tell Giovanna that they weren’t _actually_ a couple, and no one was supposed to know they were even fucking.  
  
    After a huge Christmas lunch, they were all lounging around and waiting for the presents to be handed out. Ian, like always, was in charge of giving the presents to their respective recipients.  
  
    Ian picked up one, reading out the tag on it, ‘It says it’s for me…and Mick? From Giovanna.’ He frowned at Giovanna, who smiled warmly back at him.  
  
    ‘I know it’s probably weird, but this book really helped out when Iggy and I were having problems.’ Giovanna took Ian’s frown for offence and quickly added, ‘Not that you’re having problems. It’s a “break glass in case of emergency” kind of thing.’  
  
    Before anyone could stop him, he opened it and read the title, ‘“Mindful Relationships: The Key to True Love”…’  
  
    Everyone tensed up, eyeing each other nervously, while Giovanna just frowned in confusion. Mickey was glaring at his brother, sending him death threats in his mind. The tension released when Ian started laughing. Everyone looked at him, completely shocked by his reaction.  
  
    ‘G, Mick and I aren’t dating,’ Ian told her. ‘I know it seems it sometimes, because we’re close, but we’re just friends.’  
  
    Giovanna frowned, clearly not understanding. Before Iggy could say anything, she started, ‘But Iggy said that—’  
  
    Iggy, without thinking about how obvious it would look, put a hand over her mouth. She shoved his hand away, giving him an incredulous look, and Ian frowned in confusion. After a moment, Ian scanned the room and could see all the guilty faces.  
  
    Not really believing it himself, he had to ask, ‘Giovanna, what did Iggy tell you?’  
  
    Giovanna clearly understood now as she began to panic slightly, brown eyes going wide with nervousness. ‘Uh, nothing. I was just kidding. Gag gift!’ She laughed awkwardly, not really knowing where to go with that.  
  
    Ian, knowing what was going on now, threw the book on the floor and stood, glaring down at Mickey. ‘You fucking told them, didn’t you?!’  
  
    Mickey scrambled to his feet. ‘I didn’t! They all fuckin’ walked in on us banging.’  
  
    ‘When did you find out they knew?’ Ian snapped, blushing in embarrassment and anger.  
  
    ‘A few months ago…’ Mickey muttered guiltily, scratching the back of his neck.  
  
    ‘I can’t believe this, Mickey! Why didn’t you tell me?’  
  
    ‘Because I knew you’d fuckin’ freak out like this!’ Mickey snapped back.  
  
    ‘See, this is why I don’t want to date you, I know I can’t trust you when I need to,’ Ian exclaimed. ‘You treat me like a kid! You don’t get to decide what I do and don’t know.’    
  
    ‘Ian, it’s not that big of a deal!’  
  
    ‘Yeah, well, now it’s not, because it’s over. I’m not doing this anymore.’ Ian turned and stormed out the front door, slamming it shut behind him.  
  
    Giovanna apologised profusely after Ian had left, but Mickey just told her not to worry about it and headed down to his room to sulk. Seeing as they all knew Ian’s habit of running away, they waited a few hours before Lip went and got Ian, bringing him home. Mickey came out when he heard the door open, but only caught sight of Ian’s red hair before he disappeared around the corner to his own room. Lip only shook his head at Mickey and the brunette sighed, returning to his room to sulk some more. He didn’t know what to do or how to fix this. Maybe he couldn’t.  
  
  
  
**2015**  
  
To Fiona’s disappointment, Debbie was getting more and more manipulative as she got older. She was glad it wasn’t the kind of manipulative where she tricked a guy into getting her pregnant or anything, that just wasn’t Debbie, but she was still pretty manipulative. Maybe she got it from Ian. So when she asked to go to her first party with Mandy, Lip, Mickey, and Ian, Fiona wasn’t too keen on the idea.  
  
    ‘ _Please_ , Fiona!’ Debbie cried, adjusting her short skirt. ‘You said I could last week!’  
  
    ‘That’s when I thought it was a party with kids your own age!’ Fiona snapped, totally sick of Debbie’s whining. It had been going on for two days since she had realised what kind of party it was and said Debbie couldn’t go.  
  
    ‘It _is_ ,’ Debbie snapped back. ‘There are going to be kids of all ages there! C’mon, Fiona, it’s a New Years party and _everyone_ is going. If I miss this one, they’ll think I’m lame.’  
  
    ‘Even more than they already do?’ Carl snickered, and Debbie smacked him.  
  
    ‘What are you doing tonight, then, you loser?’  
  
    Carl shrugged. ‘Gonna set fire to shit. Might go to a friend’s place. He’s having a few people over, and I’m thinking of hooking up with Holly.’  
  
    Debbie leant in toward him threateningly. ‘Lose your virginity before I do and I’ll stab you to death in your sleep.’  
  
    ‘Debbie!’ Fiona snapped. ‘See? And this is why you’re not going.’  
  
    ‘ _Fiona_ ,’ Debbie whined, all but stomping her feet.  
  
    ‘And definitely not in that skirt,’ Fiona added, eyeing it.  
  
    Mandy, Ian, and Lip then made their way from their rooms, done getting ready. They all looked pretty good, but Debbie’s eye immediately went to Mandy’s bare legs, finding her excuse to get to wear the skirt she wanted.  
  
    ‘Mandy’s wearing the same kind of skirt!’ Debbie cried out, pointing at Mandy.  
  
    Mandy smirked. ‘I’m an adult, kid. I can wear what I want.’  
  
    ‘We’ll take care of Debs, Fi,’ Lip offered. ‘C’mon, we went to parties alone at her age.’  
  
    Fiona frowned, not wanting to be ganged up on, but sort of knowing that Lip had a point. Finally, she huffed. ‘Fine, but if you come home drunk, I’ll kill you, especially if you wake me up. I’m sending Iggy to pick you up and drop you off.’  
  
    ‘ _Fiona_!’ Debbie shrieked. ‘I’m fifteen years old; I can’t be seen being _dropped off_ like I’m some five year old going to playgroup!’  
  
    ‘Iggy dropping you off or no dice,’ Fiona said, arching her eyebrows and crossing her arms.  
  
    Debbie huffed, rolling her eyes. ‘Fine.’  
  
    Ian and Lip snickered at her expression as Fiona went off to call Iggy, and Debbie shot them a glare.  
  
    ‘You’re being embarrassed, too, you know,’ Debbie reminded them. ‘Iggy is dropping us _all_ off.’  
  
    ‘Not embarrassing to us, Red,’ Mickey chimed in as he came out of his room, pulling on his leather jacket. ‘Less drunken stumbling home.’  
  
    Ian went silent when Mickey came in, expression growing hard as he looked away. They still hadn’t talked since Christmas, which was a week ago. _This_ was the very reason Debbie needed to go to this party; she had a plan to get them back together. They could be a little more grateful. She figured they didn’t know, though, so maybe they could thank her later.  
  
    ‘Yeah, then you won’t end up passing out on Linda’s front porch again,’ Lip snickered.  
  
    ‘Bitch beat me with a fuckin’ broom like I was a rat or some shit,’ Mickey laughed, grinning at the memory.  
  
    Mickey had been sulking five out of the seven days since Christmas, but for the past two days, he had clearly just decided to put on a happy face and pretend to be in a good mood. It seemed to do nothing but piss Ian off even more, though. Debbie found these idiotic boys so hopeless, she knew she was doing the right thing helping them out.  
  
  
Iggy finally picked them up and drove them there, no problem. As soon as Debbie hopped out of the truck, though, he called out, ‘Have a good time, sweetie!’ just to be a massive fucking dick.  
  
    Debbie groaned in embarrassment, covering her face as people glanced over, some laughing and staring as if they had no manners.  
  
    Lip chuckled, removing her hands. ‘C’mon, Debs. Just roll with it. Play it cool.’  
  
    ‘Play what cool?’ Ian asked, frowning.  
  
    Lip let out a loud laugh. ‘Jesus, Ian. You’re more clueless than Debbie.’  
  
    They walked into the party, the bass thrumming and filling them with excitement. There were people smoking, a _lot_ of people drinking, some dancing, and there was a circle of people playing a drinking game. Debbie immediately felt out of place. She hadn’t been to a party like this before. Sure, her parties had people drinking, but they were usually smaller and less loud.  
  
    ‘I am _so_ playing Never Have I Ever,’ Mandy cried out, rushing over to the circle and dragging Lip with her.  
  
    Ian and Mickey glanced at each other before Ian looked away. Mickey sighed and strode off, disappearing into the crowd. Debbie grew a little worried that Ian was going to ditch her, but he only stayed and grinned down at her.  
  
    ‘So, Debs, what do you wanna do?’  
  
    Debbie shrugged, shifting in her short skirt and feeling a little more uncomfortable now. ‘Drink, I guess?’  
  
    ‘C’mon, let’s go grab something.’ Ian dragged her through the crowd, glaring at anyone who came too close to his little sister.  
  
    Debbie smiled slightly at that, glad to have a brother like Ian who wanted to protect her. That’s why she was so okay with doing this for him. Now she just needed to start phase one of the plan: Get Mickey to go upstairs with a guy. However, being stuck with Ian now, she had no idea how she could do that.  
  
    Ian handed her a drink, bopping along to the music while he did so. ‘Do you wanna dance?’  
  
    Debbie looked down at her cup, thinking that she will not be able to dance without spilling it everywhere. She scanned the room, spotting Mickey in the corner alone. ‘You go. I’ll go sit with Mickey.’  
  
    Ian gave her a tight smile at the mention of Mickey, but nodded and headed out onto the dance floor. She watched as he began dancing with everyone, working the room like it was natural for him. She wished she could be the same way, but she’d never been that good at making friends.  
  
    Debbie headed over to Mickey, sitting down next to him. ‘Don’t you like parties?’  
  
    Mickey shrugged. ‘Not really my thing, but I like drinking and smoking weed…so.’  
  
    ‘You could do that at home,’ Debbie pressed, wanting to hear the real reason. ‘Why’d you come out with us?’  
  
    ‘I also like taking care of you guys. Since you’re all fuckin’ idiots, I have to make sure you don’t do anything stupid,’ he answered, but Debbie noticed he was staring at Ian as he did so.  
  
    Debbie rolled her eyes. ‘Yeah, alright. You not looking to hook up with anyone tonight?’  
  
    Mickey gave her an incredulous look. ‘The fuck do you care?’  
  
    ‘You’re family.’  
  
    ‘So, as family, you want me to hook up with people?’ He arched his eyebrows.  
  
    Debbie opened her mouth to give an affirmative answer, but then realised his point. She screwed her face up and laughed. ‘Yeah, that’s a little messed up, isn’t it?’ Shaking her head, she quickly moved on with her plan. She needed to make this work. ‘It’s just…you can’t mope around about Ian forever.’  
  
    ‘I’m not moping about Ian!’ Mickey scowled. ‘I do _not_ fuckin’ _mope_.’  
  
    ‘Prove it, then.’ Debbie lifted her chin challengingly, and Mickey’s eye twitched in annoyance at the movement. She knew when she did that she looked so much like Ian. ‘I’ll hang out with Lip and Mandy; you go get some.’ She patted his knee before heading over to join Lip and Mandy.  
  
    She didn’t want to join in the drinking game, so she sat outside of the circle behind Lip. She watched as Mickey stood, heading over to a hot guy in the corner and saying something, before nodding toward the stairs. The guy nodded and they headed upstairs together.  
  
    ‘Yes,’ she whispered.  
  
    She looked over to Ian, who was…not staring at the stairs with a look of jealousy like she had hoped. He wasn’t even looking!  
  
    Debbie huffed, rising from the circle. Lip looked at her questioningly and she said, ‘Going to dance with Ian.’  
  
    She raced over to Ian. When he noticed her, he spun her around, trying to get her to dance with him. She grabbed his arms, stopping him. He looked down at her in confusion, but when she tried to say something, she realised it was too loud there. She dragged him away from the dance floor to somewhere quieter to start phase two of the plan: jealous Ian.  
  
    ‘Mickey’s gone upstairs with a guy,’ Debbie told him and watched him frown. _Oh shit_ , she thought, _he doesn’t look angry and jealous. He looks…hurt_. She had no idea how to fix this.  
  
    ‘I don’t care,’ Ian scoffed, a scowl forming on his face. He quickly covered it with a fake grin. ‘I’m going back to dance, Debs; come with me!’  
  
    ‘ _Ian_ ,’ she said, making him stop. She knew Mickey didn’t really want to hook up with that guy, but she had provoked him. She didn’t want him to do it when he didn’t really want to. In a moment of panic, she blurted, ‘I don’t know if Mickey’s in his right mind! He’s pretty sad and drunk, and I kind of told him to do it…But I know he doesn’t want to!’  
  
    Ian paused, now looking unsure. ‘How drunk?’  
  
    Debbie, in her fifteen year old brain, thought this was perfect. Ian would go up there and stop them, and then they would get back together. ‘ _Pretty drunk_.’ It was a lie, but she felt it was a necessary lie.  
  
    ‘Go sit with Lip and Mandy,’ he ordered, making sure she went to them before heading upstairs.  
  
*  
  
Mickey scrunched up his face as some dude he didn’t know the name of slobbered on his neck. They had only made out a little bit, but he was already deciding that he didn’t really want to go through with this. Why had he invited this guy up here in the first place, to prove something to some fifteen year old? Fuck that shit.  
  
    ‘Stop,’ Mickey said, shoving the guy off him.  
  
    ‘You fuckin’ kiddin’ me?’ the guy groaned in disappointment, looking down at his hard on. ‘Man, are you really blue-balling me right now?’  
  
    Mickey sat up, rubbing at his forehead, which was suddenly throbbing. ‘Yeah, sorry about that, superstar.’  
  
    The guy huffed, but stepped back to give Mickey some room. After a few seconds of eyeing Mickey, he asked, ‘Dude…are you okay? You’re fuckin’ pale…er than before.’  
  
    ‘I think I’m gonna throw up.’  
  
    The dude sighed. ‘I did not sign up for this shit, but let me help you to the bathroom.’  
  
    He started to come toward Mickey, but Mickey held his hand out in warning, pushing him away. ‘No, man. Don’t want to vomit on you.’  
  
    ‘Well, you can’t do it on the floor. Come on, man.’ The guy grabbed Mickey by the arm.  
  
    ‘No,’ Mickey groaned. ‘Don’t move me.’  
  
    ‘Come on.’ The guy persisted.  
  
    ‘No,’ Mickey cried out, realising he was seconds away from vomiting on this dude.  
  
    ‘What the fuck is going on?’ Ian barked, door slamming shut behind him as he entered.  
  
    If Ian had stopped to take a closer look, he would’ve noticed the guy wasn’t being aggressive, but all he saw was a random guy leaning over Mickey while Mickey tried to push him away. And he saw red. He immediately charged at the guy, punching him in the face hard enough that the dude collapsed on the floor, groaning and holding his nose. Mickey then proceeded to vomit all over the floor and Ian jumped in surprise, coming over and pushing Mickey’s hair off his sweaty forehead.  
  
    ‘What the fuck did you do to him?’ Ian snapped at the guy currently curled up on the floor in pain.  
  
    ‘Nothing!’ the guy snapped, rising to his feet and holding his bleeding nose. ‘We were making out, and then he said to stop because he was going to throw up.’  
  
    Mickey groaned, his stomach rolling again. He gagged, but didn’t throw up again. Not wanting Ian to hit this, frankly, innocent guy again, he managed to say, ‘I think I have food poisoning.’  
  
    ‘How did we know this piece of shit didn’t roofie you?’ Ian snapped, kneeling beside Mickey, but making sure to avoid the vomit.  
  
    ‘I didn’t drink much, only a beer that I brought,’ Mickey panted, feeling even sicker. ‘He couldn’t have.’  
  
    The guy slowly got up, stumbling out of the room. Ian ignored him to cup Mickey’s face, making him look at him. He stared at him for a moment, trying to gauge how sick he was. He was paler than ever and looked pretty shit.  
  
    ‘Come on, we’re going home,’ Ian said with a sigh. ‘We’ll grab Debs and call Iggy, you need to lie down at home. How the hell did you manage to get food poisoning when we didn’t?’  
  
    ‘Iggy and I had some of G’s homemade…something.’ He swallowed harshly, making a face at the acidic taste in his mouth. ‘I can’t remember; it looked leafy.’  
  
    ‘That explains the green,’ Ian said, screwing his face up in disgust as he tugged Mickey’s wrist to stand him up. ‘I wonder if Iggy’s puking too.’  
  
    ‘I fuckin’ hope so. Fucker guilt-tripped me into trying it,’ he groaned, leaning heavily against Ian.  
  
    Ian led them downstairs and Debbie immediately rushed over with a horrified look on her face.  
  
    ‘What happened to him?’ she gasped, worried that it was somehow her fault.  
  
    ‘He’s got food poisoning. Can you call Iggy to come and get us?’  
  
    Debbie nodded and immediately called Iggy. He said he would be there in ten minutes. While Ian went and told Mandy and Lip what had happened, Debbie waited outside with Mickey so he could get some air. When Ian found Mandy and Lip, they sent their condolences, but opted to stay at the party. Ian had to hold back an eye roll at their predictable decision and went back outside to Debbie and Mickey. By the time he got there, though, Mickey was asleep on Debbie’s shoulder.  
  
    Ian couldn’t help but laugh a little as he settled down on the porch beside them. ‘He tuckered himself out.’  
  
    Debbie looked over at her brother with wide eyes. ‘Ian, I’m so sorry I told Mickey to hook up with that guy. I just thought that if I did, you’d get jealous and get back together with him.’  
  
    Ian sighed, now realising what her plan had been all along. ‘Jesus, Debs. Look, you shouldn’t have done that, but Mickey’s a grown-up. What he decides to do is his decision, and it’s not your job to fix our relationship…or non-relationship.’  
  
    ‘But Mickey seems so sad,’ Debbie whined, looking down at the sleeping man. He was currently not that cute because he smelt awful, but Debbie still found him slightly adorable. ‘Like a kicked puppy.’  
  
    Ian laughed, eyeing the sleeping man as well. He did kind of look cute like a puppy. ‘I think if you described Mickey like that to his face, he would _not_ be happy.’  
  
    Debbie frowned. ‘I just…I don’t like all the negative stuff in the house at the moment. It’s scary thinking I might lose either of you. I love you guys.’  
  
    Ian nodded, knowing that this was exactly what he was afraid of. ‘Don’t worry about it, Debs. You’re not losing either of us, no matter what our relationship status is.’  
  
    Debbie nodded, sighing as Iggy pulled up. ‘We should go home I guess.’  
  
    She helped Ian pull the unconscious Mickey up and toward the car. Debbie climbed in the front, while Ian lifted Mickey into the back so he was lying across his lap.  
  
    ‘He actually ate G’s shit?’ Iggy cackled after Ian had explained what had happened. ‘I’ll have to apologise when he wakes up.’  
  
    ‘He said you ate some,’ Ian said, ‘Why aren’t you puking your guts out?’  
  
    ‘I threw mine in the plant behind me when she wasn’t looking. I ain’t no rookie, man.’ Iggy laughed and pulled away from the house.  
  
*  
  
Mickey blinked his eyes open, squinting at the dim light in his room. A lamp was on in the corner and he saw Ian sitting on the bed next to him, leaning against the headboard. He was reading a book and looked completely entranced by it, so it took him a moment to notice Mickey was awake.  
  
    ‘Oh, you’re up,’ Ian murmured, shutting the book and putting it on Mickey’s bedside table. He placed his hand against Mickey’s forehead and Mickey melted into the touch. ‘Yeah, still warm. How are you feeling?’  
  
    ‘Like punching Iggy in the face,’ Mickey croaked, shifting to sit up slightly. ‘And fuckin’ dehydrated.’  
  
    Ian immediately handed him a glass of water that Mickey accepted gratefully, gulping down way too fast. ‘Hey, slow down or you’ll throw up again,’ Ian warned, lightly touching the end of the glass.  
  
    Mickey handed him the glass back, still half-full. ‘Is Iggy puking his guts up?’  
  
    Ian laughed a little. ‘Nah, he threw his in the potted plant, apparently the leafy quality of the dish made it a good hiding place.’  
  
    ‘That fucker.’ When Ian smiled in response to what Mickey said, he blinked up at him in confusion. ‘Why are you being so nice? Aren’t you still pissed at me?’  
  
    Ian smiled gently. ‘Oh, don’t be fooled by the smile. I’m fuckin’ furious.’  
  
    Mickey deflated a little, but was shocked and happy when Ian lifted his chin to look into the blue eyes he loved so much.  
  
    ‘ _But_ I figure this is something we can get past. After all, a real couple works through their fights, right?’ Ian said, a bit awkward and unsure.  
  
    ‘A real couple?’ Mickey repeated, mouth spreading into a grin. ‘What do ya mean by that, Gallagher?’  
  
    Ian shuffled down until he was at level with Mickey, wrapping his arms around his waist as he pretended to think to himself. ‘Well, for starters, we would start sharing a room _immediately_. Mostly so I can get out of that room with Carl, and so we can have sex really late. Uh, we’d start telling each other things, rather than hiding them. We _wouldn’t_ make out with other people and then proceed to vomit everywhere.’  
  
    Mickey winced. ’Yeah, I’m still sorry about that one.’  
  
    Ian nodded, grinning teasingly. ‘You should be. But, yeah, a real couple. Boyfriends. Partners. _Lovers_.’  
  
    ‘Never say “lovers” again,’ Mickey laughed. ‘Boyfriends, though…sounds good.’ He then leant in to kiss Ian, but was immediately intercepted by Ian’s hand.  
  
    ‘Yeah, no way are you kissing me for at least twenty-four hours. I need your breath to stop smelling like stomach juices and I need the image of you puking to get out of my mind first. Sorry, babe.’ Ian kissed his cheek to soften the blow.  
  
    ‘We’re not “babe”ing now, are we?’ Mickey groaned, but he couldn’t really hide his happiness that they were okay again.  
  
    ‘Yeah, we are.’ Ian laughed. ‘Now go to sleep, we’ve got a big day of people being way too nosy about our relationship tomorrow.’  
  
    Mickey sighed, settling into Ian’s arms. ‘Can’t wait.’  
  
  
  
**2016**  
  
Iggy walked into his old home to see Ian and Mickey curled up on the couch as usual, more-so making out than watching the movie in front of them. He grinned at the couple before shutting the door behind him, alerting them to his presence. ‘Time and a place, people.’  
  
    ‘We thought we were alone, Ig, and this is our place.’ Mickey sighed, pulling away from Ian. ‘What are you doing here, anyway?’  
  
    Iggy, in the kitchen at that moment, was putting some beer he bought in the fridge. ‘It’s family dinner tonight, remember? Lip and Mandy are coming down and everything.’  
  
    Mandy had gotten into college as well, but a different one to Lip. She and Ellie ended up going to the same one and had an apartment there. With them and Iggy moved out, Ian and Mickey moved out of the basement and into their own room. Debbie and Carl also each had their own room. Ian had gone full-time at the bar, and he and Mickey were planning on moving into their own place soon.  
  
    It had been a year since they had gotten back together, and they couldn’t be happier. All of them were pretty happy with how their lives were going, actually. Debbie was doing well in school and had finished going through her rebellious stage. Carl wasn’t doing so well in school, but he had started dating the sheriff’s daughter, Dominique, so he was pretty happy. Plus, she was good for him and kept him in line, so everyone else was happy about it too. Fiona was single for once and happy about it, and she was also saving up to take herself on a short holiday. Iggy and Giovanna were still going strong. Everyone was pretty good.  
  
    Iggy jumped as Fiona, Carl, and Debbie barrelled through the door, being their usual loud selves. Ian and Mickey sighed and pulled apart fully, helping Fiona with the groceries. Iggy headed straight for his brother, wanting to talk to him before he made his announcement tonight.  
  
    He grinned as he approached his little brother, whispering, ‘Hey. Wanna go somewhere _much cooler_ than here?’  
  
    Mickey rolled his eyes but followed Iggy as he went out the front to sit on the porch. They settled down and Iggy couldn’t help but think, looking out at the grass and hills spread out in front of them, that this place _was_ a lot cooler than anywhere else in the world.  
  
    Mickey, clearly not admiring the scenery as much, lit a cigarette and asked, ‘What is it, Ig?’  
  
    Iggy nervously played with his own cigarette packet. ‘G and I are getting married, Mick.’  
  
    Mickey grinned, slapping his shoulder lightly. ‘Fuckin’ A. That’s great, man. When are you telling everyone?’  
  
    Iggy smiled. ‘Tonight, at dinner. I wanted to talk to you first, though. I wanted to ask if you would be my best man?’  
  
    Mickey laughed, punching him lightly in the shoulder. ‘Of course I will, you fucker. Won’t Fi be pissed, though? Thought she was your best man.’  
  
    ‘G’s going to ask Fiona and Mandy to be bridesmaids,’ Iggy laughed.  
  
    Mickey snorted. ‘Oh, man. Mandy will _love_ that. Is G making everyone turn up barefoot?’  
  
    ‘Nah, man. We’re all going to be naked with leaves to cover our junk, though.’ Iggy kept a straight face.  
  
    Mickey’s eyes widened. ‘You’re fuckin’ kidding, right?’  
  
    Iggy rolled his eyes. ‘Of fuckin’ course, dickhead!’  
  
    ‘Well, I dunno, man. With G, anything’s possible.’  
  
    Iggy nodded. ‘Yeah, you got that right.’  
  
    The door swung open suddenly, making Mickey and Iggy jump. Ian and Mandy stepped out, laughing at the way they were both clutching at their chests.  
  
    ‘You can’t do that shit. Ig’s gettin’ old,’ Mickey joked, standing up and leaning into his boyfriend.  
  
    Ian laughed, eyeing Iggy who was still coming down from the shock. Maybe it was a bad idea to scare the shit outta him. ‘Come on, guys. Fiona’s starting to cook dinner and she needs extra hands apparently.’  
  
    ‘Yeah, and you sexist dicks aren’t leaving it all up to the women,’ Mandy huffed, heading inside.  
  
    They all came inside, the smell of food already floating throughout the house. Iggy approached Fiona, his best friend, and smiled at her exhaustion. She’d always looked exhausted, but now at least she looked happy. Exhausted and stressed the fuck out about dinner, but happy, because at least they had dinner to put on the table.  
  
    ‘What do you need?’ he asked, like he had so many times before.  
  
    ‘Cut these and get out of my face,’ Fiona ordered, handing him a bunch of carrots.  
  
    Iggy laughed and headed over to the kitchen table to cut his assigned vegetable. Apparently when he decided this was the vegetable-cutting location, others agreed and joined him. Carl cut up the pumpkin beside him, while Debbie sliced the potatoes across from them. Lip was measuring out some flour, and Mandy was doing dishes so Fiona could have whatever she needed on hand. Ian and Mickey were flirting over some chocolate pudding they were putting together. When Ian dipped his finger into it and brought it to Mickey’s mouth, Fiona smacked his hand with a wooden spoon.  
  
    ‘No weird finger-licking flirting over here,’ Fiona snapped, clearly stressed out. ‘Mickey, you’re retiring to cutting. Ig, come and help Ian with the dessert before he fucks it all up.’  
  
    Iggy laughed and left his station to join Ian, who looked upset at the new development. They shared a look before Iggy joked, ‘I ain’t lickin’ your finger, man.’  
  
    Ian rolled his eyes and wiped his finger on a tea towel.  
  
  
Soon enough, Giovanna arrived and everyone started dinner. It was delicious and everyone made sure to tell Fiona that, who was slumped in her chair next to Iggy, seeming about ready to pass out. She seemed content, though, and that’s all Iggy could ask for. Giovanna had decided to be the one to break the news before they started dessert, making a joke about her ring that caused everyone to take notice of it. Fiona was suddenly full of beans as she jumped up to hug her best friend. Giovanna had also decided not to ask about the bridesmaid thing right away. She had bad experiences with breaking news to Gallaghers before and wanted a few days between each time.  
  
    As they all settled back into eating their desserts, making jokes about how Ian and Mickey had probably gotten their germs in the pudding, Iggy looked around the table at his family. The people he’d ran away with, the people he’d taken care of and grown up with, the people he loved more than anyone in the world.  
  
    Mandy, who’d grown into such an amazing person and was learning so much at college. She’d even joined a feminist club who volunteered at women’s shelters and abuse centres, which was perfect for her and made her feel happy to help out.  
  
    Lip, who’d had struggles in college at first, but was now excelling again like they’d all expected. He was taking a break from dating to focus more on his studies and take every opportunity that was thrown his way. He was interning with some girl’s father. He really liked the girl, Amanda, as well and everyone knew that they were probably going to be meeting her soon, dating hiatus to be forgotten.  
  
    Debbie and Carl, who were such pains in the asses, but he wouldn’t trade them for the world. He wanted nothing more than to watch Debbie get a boyfriend, go to prom, and just enjoy her childhood a bit longer. He wanted to watch Carl grow into the person Iggy always knew he could be, not what everyone expected him to be.  
  
    Ian, who’d overcome so much and grown up a lot. He was someone Iggy was glad his brother was with. He had graduated high school and was working full-time at the bar, but trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. He treated Mickey well and they were in a healthy, supportive relationship, finally.  
  
    Mickey, who’d taken everything Terry had ever forced on him and completely shoved it out the window. He was kind and loving and successful and happy. He was everything Terry wasn’t, and Iggy was so fucking proud of him.  
  
    And Fiona, his best friend who had been through so much and had had so much weight on her shoulders, even if he’d done what he could to share the load. She’d been with so many guys that were bad for her, and even some that were good for her, but she was finally taking some time to explore herself. She was finally taking a break from all the stress and pressure, and Iggy couldn’t be happier for her.  
  
    Iggy looked down as Fiona stretched a hand out toward him. He took her hand in his own and squeezed it as they both sat there, quietly realising that this was going to be their lives for a while longer.  
  
    And Iggy really couldn’t complain.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I just needing something long and easy after It Felt Like Home :) I will now be continuing my other ones! God, I'm exhausted lol


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